The Gift
by MessyLittleRaindrop
Summary: Elliot watched as Olivia cast her tear filled eyes to her flat stomach and tenderly ran her hand across it. "Every hope I had is gone," she whispered mournfully. "Every one of them..."
1. Chapter 1

I don't own SVU and I wish to say thank you to my wonderful beta Bellatrix Wannabe 89. Thank you I hope you enjoy the story.

Pulling up outside a picturesque house with the path covered in a gentle layer of undisturbed snow, Craig Tearny stopped at the bottom of the drive way he looked around the car. His wife, Baillie, was sitting with her feet on the dash board reading, his son Nick, 10, was playing his PSP, while his daughter McKenzie, 7, was listening to her IPod.

"We're here!" he announced happily to his family and turned off the car.

Nick was the first to leave the vehicle followed straight after by McKenzie. They jumped down from the car as the sound of the snow crunching under their feet rang through the silent air.

"Hey I want to ruin the snow!" McKenzie shouted in mock anger.

McKenzie dropped to the ground and began to make snow angels on the ground. When she stood up the young girl stood back to admire the beautiful image she crated on the blinding white powder. Nick took this moment while her guard down to make a snowball and threw it, hitting the back of his sister's head.

"Bullseye!" Nick shouted as he jumped up and down only to be stopped in his tracks moments later by a snowball threw by his sister.

The quiet street soon filled with the echo of the children's playful laughter. Bending down Mackenzie rolled up another small amount of packy snow in her gloved hands before she raised it above her head and threw it at her brother. A full blown snowball fight soon followed.

"Guy's, empty the car first then play," Craig shouted as he and Baillie grabbed their bags from the trunk.

The kids ran and picked up their bags from the car while Baillie opened the door to the new house. Placing the bag she had over her shoulder gently onto the ground she looked around and smiled. The two children ran past her and thundered up the stairs she had half a mind to scold them for being too loud but decided to let it go.

She had just began to walk into the kitchen when McKenzie came tredging down the stairs and stormed over to her before she tugged on hers mother's shirt. She turned around to see the young girl was standing crossed armed and wasn't looking happy.

"Mom, Nick took the best room!" she moaned.

"You should have been quicker then," her mother replied trying not to laugh at the young girl.

McKenzie walked away in a huff and went into the smaller of the two room's, and began placing her stuff neatly around. The movers had been up the day before with the van, filled with the beds and the larger furniture, so they had a good start.

Craig came in behind Baillie and the two glanced at one another for a moment. Baillie managed a smile and reached out and held her husband's hand. "Everything will be alright," she promised him.

Craig took a deep breath and nodded, giving her a weak smile of his own. "I know…"

The two smiled at one another before they grabbed their separate bags and headed up towards their new room.

Hours later after all of the clothes had been put away the small family gathered in the living room. Craig and Baillie sat on the couch while Nick and McKenzie sat on the beautiful crafted hard wood floors in front of them. Nick was playing with his PS3 once more while McKenzie was drawing a picture with a dark red crayon.

"Everyone got all their stuff unpacked?" Craig asked the two children.

Nick and McKenzie's ashamed voices spoke the same word almost instantly. "Almost."

"I'll help them later," Baillie assured them with a smile to prove they weren't in trouble. "But for now we gotta figure out something for dinner. I'll go to the store tomorrow so I guess we need to order in tonight."

"Pizza!" both children shouted in unison.

"Least you both agree on something," Craig said with a chuckle. "Now the bigger question; pepperoni or cheese?"

The shout of Nick's "Pepperoni!" meshed loudly with McKenzie's "Cheese!"

"No, pepperoni," said Nick as he hit his sister in the arm causing the pile of paper she was holding to slip from her grip, and drop to the floor in a mess.

"Dad, Nick hit me!" she whined.

"Nick, don't hit your sister okay?" he replied in a stern voice.

McKenzie stuck her tongue out and sat on her father's knee. Rubbing her hair gently he looked over to his wife,

"You want me to go pick it up or call it in?" he asked.

"Go pick it up and get the number when you're there," she replied.

Nodding he placed McKenzie down on the floor and got up from the couch.

Grabbing his car keys from the coffee table in front of him he headed out of their new house.

An hour later when he entered the house again he was surprised at what he saw.

"You can't do your rooms…," he mused as he put the two large pizzas, one cheese and one pepperoni on the coffee table, "but you have time to play the Wii?"

"There's always time for the Wii, Dad," Nick replied not taking his eyes from the TV his mother had hastily hooked up.

Craig rolled his eyes but never the less sat down next to his wife on the couch and grabbed a slice of pepperoni. "Twenty bucks says I kick your ass after this game."

Baillie smirked as she grabbed a slice of cheese. "You're on."

Hours later after they ate the pizza, and Craig had to pay the twenty dollars to his wife, the family played Wii for a little while until they were so tired the kids nearly fell on their feet.

"Alright," Craig announced as he clapped his hands together. "Both of you upstairs, time for bed. Tomorrow is a big day, you guys."

Both Nick and McKenzie were too tired to argue so instead they turned and headed off towards the stairs and descended up them.

"You ready for this?" Elliot muttered to Olivia as they watched their 'children' head off to bed, slipping out of his persona that Cragen has assigned to him earlier that day.

"No," Olivia breathed voicing the anxiousness she had been feeling all day.

One week earlier.

Olivia stood in front of her apartment building, waiting for Elliot to pick her up since her new car had yet to arrive from the showroom, looking at her watch she sighed and slipping her phone out her back pocket, she called the all too familiar number she had memorized long ago.

"EL, were the hell are you?" she scolded.

"Calm down, I'm nearly at you're place," he replied.

"Well hurry up, it cold and it's starting to rain," grumbled Olivia before hanging up the phone.

Within a few minutes the rain began to bounce hard off the sidewalk. Pulling her collar around her neck and began to curse him under her breath, she pushed her hands deep into her pockets until she saw Elliot pull up driving right through a puddle missing her by inches.

"That was so close," she told him getting in to the passenger side

"Morning to you too, Ms Benson," he smiled handing her a coffee.

Olivia pulled her hair back in a messy bun and took the coffee gladly to warm up her hands; placing her head back to the head rest she drank it happily.

As they walked into the station perfectly in unison with each other, they headed towards the squad room. Olivia sighed happily as she draped her wet, gray jacket over her chair before sitting down and took a long drink of the coffee Elliot had given her. Munch and Fin looked over to their work mates, walking over to greet them. They began to chat about a recent case the team had to go to court with to put it to rest. Just then; Cragen and Gillian Hardwick walked in to the room. Cragen had a brown file in his hand and Gillian and him were talking between themselves and they came to a stop beside their desks.

"Have you done your prep for court tomorrow?" Hardwick asked

"Getting ready now, won't be too much longer," Elliot replied.

"I will finish when I get back, I need to pop back out for a while," Olivia told them.

Olivia left the precinct and as she arrived in the parking lot, Olivia realized she had left her wallet lying on her desk.

"Terrific," she muttered as she dug in her purse for her phone to call Elliot.

"El, listen," she told him when he answered his own phone with familiar greeting of 'Stabler', "I left my wallet lying on my desk, could you put it in my top drawer for me, I'll get it in the morning," she told him, fumbling around her purse in her car keys. "Hold on," said Olivia as she placed her purse on the top of the trunk so she could see better, "El," she said placing the phone back up to her ear, "Car keys there too?" she asked

This caused her partner to laugh. "Yes, they are here too."

Olivia let out a loud groan of annoyance, "okay, I'm on the way back," she told him turning on her heels she headed back towards the squad room.

"Say I'm a lifesaver," said Elliot with a shit eating grin as he held up her purse.

"You're a life saver," Olivia replied to a smile.

She walked over to him and Elliot chuckled as he handed her the purse. "So where you going?" he asked casually.

"Nowhere," she said with a careless shrug. "See ya."

With a small wave she turned and left the squad room again with Elliot looking curiously after her.

…

A few hours later Olivia arrived back in to the squad room, looking around she seen a few people working away but Elliot, Munch or Fin were no were to be seen, throwing her coat back over her chair and walking to the break room where she got herself a apple and made herself another cup of coffee before walking over to the window.

A heavy sigh escaped her as she looked out to the Manhattan skyline. She lost herself in her daydream when Elliot walked back in holding a sandwich in one hand and as soda in the other noticing Olivia standing alone.

He placed his lunch down on the table and walked over to her. As he got closer to her he noticed her tear stained face and distant look in his partners eyes. He placed his hand on her shoulder causing her to snap out of her day dream she seemed to be having. She placed the coffee cup down and wiped her eyes and smiled at him.

"I thought you had the day off?" he said softly.

He could tell that something had really upset her. Just as he was going to ask what had happened to make her so unlike herself, the rest of the team walked in. Munch was holding a young girls hand. She was badly beaten and her clothes were dirty and torn. Don walked over to Olivia with confusion in his eyes.

"I thought you were off the rest of the day?" he asked.

"Yes, I finished what I had to do earlier than I thought so I back in to finish up that paper work," she answered.

"I'm glad you're back," said Cragen as he nodded over at the young girl, "narcotics found her hiding under a bed in a house narcotics hit. Her name's Sofia," he added.

"Is she a victim" Olivia asked dreading the answer.

"No, just waiting on ACS to get here that's all. Guy in narcotics didn't know what to do with her so he called Fin," Cragen said putting Olivia's mind at ease.

Olivia touched his arm and walked over to the young girl, bending down to her height. She smiled the young girl who looked at Olivia wearily and took a few seconds to look her over.

Olivia held out her hand for the girl to take. It took the girl a few seconds to respond to her action but she eventually slipped her small hand into Olivia's larger one who closed it gently around it. Olivia took the young girl into the locker room Olivia and got the girl a shower and changed into clean clothes.

After a while the two of them came back to the desk. Olivia was carrying the young girl on her hip while holding a bottle of water in her other hand. The young girls arms were wrapped around her neck and her head rested on her shoulder.

The team was watching their interaction with great interest. They knew she was great with kids, they had seen her with many before even with Eli but this little girl showed a different side to her.

After a long while the girl fell asleep in Olivia's arms. Picking the little girl up, she took her to the crib's and tucked her in. When she came back out, Elliot was waiting at his desk when he saw her come out of the crib he walked over and pulled her aside.

"Everything okay?" he asked softly.

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" she replied trying to sound normal.

"You just seemed really upset earlier that's all."

She shrugged as if his words held no merit. "It's nothing to worry about," she told him

"Liv, talk to me. What's wrong?" he pressed.

"I told you I'm fine," she snapped at her partner.

"Am I interrupting something?" a voice asked as an unknown woman walked into the room.

"No," Olivia told her not taking her eyes from Elliot.

Elliot turned around to her and narrowed his eyes in confusion at the woman. "I'm sorry who are you?"

"Angie Willows ACS. Got a call about a girl caught in a drug raid, a Sofia Gabriella? I'm here to pick her up…."

Olivia felt her heart break at the prospect of the girl being taken away from her but remained silent as Elliot nodded. "She's right through here." Elliot stood up and led Angie towards the crib.

Olivia heard gentle low mutterings emitted from Elliot and Angie trying to awaken the sleeping girl and bit her lip as she heard Sofia cry out. "Nooo! I wanna stay with Olivia!"

She had half a mind to just leave the room before the young girl came out. Olivia couldn't deal with this. Not today…

Just as she decided to go to the break room until the young girl who had pulled at her heart strings left the precinct; the small group emerged from the crib with Angie holding tight onto a struggling Sofia's hand.

The moment she spotted the detective she had grown attached to Sofia broke away from her grasp and ran over to her "Olivia!"

Olivia groaned as the girl threw her arm around her and hugged her tightly. "I don't wanna go!"

"Sofia, you have to," said Olivia softly as she tried to pry the young girls hand from around her.

"No! I wanna stay with you!" Sofia cried as tears began to stream down her face.

"Sweetie, please," Olivia pleaded as her voice cracked with tears. "Come on, baby, go with Angie."

"Nooo!"

Her eyes closed and she took a shuddering breath as she grasped Sofia's wrists tight enough to pull them apart from around her. Angie hurried over to the couple and grabbed Sofia tightly by the hand, ignoring her own pain in her heart as she was once again forced to act like the enemy.

"I don't wanna go!" Sofia sobbed as she tried pulling away from Angie's grasp once again. "Please don't make me go back there! Olivia, please don't make me go back! PLEASE! Olivia…!"

She put a shaking hand to her trembling lip and felt hot tears fell down her face as Angie dragged a still crying and screaming Sofia around the corner.

The moment Sofia was out her eyeshot, Olivia grabbed her coat and ran from the room, fumbling around with her keys, she wiped stray tears from her eye's.

Elliot called out for her to stop but she ignored his cries. She needed to get out of there now or she was going to lose it...

After she arrived back home for the night, Olivia walked slowly up the stairs to her apartment. Slipping off her shoes and jacket she sat down on the sofa and her thoughts drifted back to the appointment she had earlier that day.

…

_A little while after leaving the precinct Olivia pulled up outside a white building, sitting in her car for much longer than usual, holding on to the letter containing the date and time of her appointment._

_She looked over felling reluctant to actually go in to the office. Eventually her courage and curiosity got the better of her and she gulped and opened the door to her car, all be it slowly, walking up the marble white steps._

_She placed her hand on the door and walked in hesitantly; giving her letter to the receptionist she took a seat and waited to be called, all the while taking ragged breaths. Only after few minutes of waiting she was called, but to Olivia it seemed like hours._

_"__Afternoon, Ms Benson," the doctor greeter her_

_"__Hello," Olivia replied taking the seat he had point to. _

_Olivia smiled timidly, her nerves were kicking in she began to fiddle nervously with her hands._

_"__We have your results," the doctor began softly as he sat down behind the oak wood desk. "I'm sorry to tell you that you have a disease known as Endometriosis."_

_"__I'm sorry, what is that?" Olivia asked unsure. _

_"__Endometriosis is a fairly common disorder," he explained ,"it happens to in woman of all ages and can be diagnosed in their early 20's, 30's, and sometimes older as in your case. It causes chronic pelvic pain like you have been experiencing, and…"_

_"And what?" Olivia asked, dreading his answer."_

_"__I'm so sorry, Ms. Benson, this disease has been known to cause infertility," the doctor finished._

_"__So I can't" she mumbled as her voice trailed off. _

_The Doctor nodded, already knowing the question she was going to ask. "No I'm sorry, you can't become pregnant. This is why you have been having problems thus far," he told her._

_Olivia sat in silence, her bottom lip started to quiver uncontrollably she bought her hand to her mouth to stop the tremble and to cover up the heart ache she felt inside._

_"__I have information leaflets for you to read," added the doctor not unkindly, "I advise you read them carefully." _

_"__Thank you," Olivia muttered with her head bow so he couldn't see the tears welling in her eyes. _

_"__I want you to make a follow up appointment," he told her handing her a prescription for pain medication._

_Olivia walked out her head spinning with all this new information she had just been told_

…

Her hand found itself slipping under her top and pressing down on the searing pain that ran throw her abdomen, sighing she took some pain killers and laid down on the couch. Turning around she looked right at the picture of her and the dark haired boy who had stolen her heart a few weeks earlier.

He was smiling brightly and laughing as was Olivia who looked like they had no care in the world. They looked like a real family. Pulling it down, she held it close to her heart as Cragen's words rang in her head,

"A detective desperate to start her own family."

All day she had this on her mind, not telling anyone, not even her partner. Like always she kept it bottled up inside. She now knew it was too late to have the baby she had longed for all these years…

With a muffled sob she kissed the photo and held it close to her heart once more as she cried herself to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Firstly a huge Thank you to all who Reviewed and put my story on Alert :) means so much to me. Secondly a huge shout out to my wonderful Beta Bellatrix Wannabe 89. I hope you continue to enjoy this story.

As the sun began to rise spreading its warm glow that spilled through the curtains of Olivia's living room she turned on her side and buried her head in the cushion as a low groan escaped her. She didn't want to face the day quite yet.

She lifted her hand to shut off her phone alarm that began to ring loudly against the quiet morning, missing the first few times but eventually managed to cease the annoying buzzing. She sat up and stretched, gently massaging the back of her neck in the process. She had almost forgotten how stiff she got from sleeping on the couch.

With a heavy yawn she reached over and grabbed her now silent phone and groaned at the message that lit up her phone.

"You have 20 missed calls," the small screen told her as she and she saw a tiny number '10' next to her text icon.  
>She quickly opened one and rolled her eyes at the content.<p>

"I'm worried please, talk to me. El." Sighing, she hit the 'delete all' button.  
>She threw off the blanket she had pulled over her during the night before she stood up letting out a massive yawn she didn't even try to disguise. She slumped towards her bedroom where she stripped herself of last night's clothing that she had fallen asleep in and slipped her dressing gown over her body.<p>

She walked back into the kitchen stopping only to get a small glass of water before she walked back into the living room and picked up her purse she had tossed on the floor last night.

Olivia took her medication out of the front pocket and took two of them before she downed the small glass of water. Placing the glass of water down on the sink, she placed one hand on top of it and one hand one her stomach.

She grimaced as a familiar pain shot through her abdomen. She had grown used to the intense shooting pain though out the years that made it nearly impossible to do anything much less concentrate on work; she learned to easily hide the pain she felt from others.

Since getting the news yesterday it made it worse however. To her the pain felt stronger. As she glanced at the calendar she noticed the date. Another sigh escaped her as she shook her head; yes this was the worst time for it... Taking some extra pain killers out her kitchen drawer she threw them into her purse to help her through the day.

Looking at her watch it read 6 AM She didn't have to be in work until 8 and usually she could get ready and out the door in an forty five minutes or less but she knew just how difficult it was to do even the most basic functions while her pain was at its height.

She began to walk towards her bathroom but the moment she took a step she let out a cry of pain and clutched her stomach. God she hated this. What she wouldn't give for just one pain free cycle…

"Come on, Benson, get your head in the game," she muttered low to herself as she willed herself to stand up straight. Taking a deep breath she forced herself to work through the pain and she headed into the bathroom to get ready for the exceedingly long day ahead…

An hour later she was finally ready for the day. She still had a little while left so she pulled out the latest book she was reading to try take her mind off things, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't. Her hand rested on her stomach as she tried to get comfortable on the sofa, forcing her mind off the pain that seemed never ending…

SVU Precinct, 8:00 AM

Elliot was sitting at his desk worried about his partner. All night he wondered why her attitude had changed. A million different things ran through his mind ranging from the simplest problem anyone has to work through to something severe or even life altering…

Picking up his cell phone for the fifteenth time in the past hour to cheek for a text or a missed call from Olivia he again saw nothing that indicated she wanted to speak to him.

Fin walked over to him and sat on the side of the desk eying him wearilly.

"You alright?" Fin asked.

"Yeah, why?" Elliot answered as he looked up at his colleague.

Fin shrugged carelessly. "You just seem on edge that's all."

"Well I'm fine," Elliot snapped harsher then he had intended, "is there anything else or can I get on with my work?"

Fin narrowed his eyes in annoyance before he stood up from the desk. "Whatever, Stabler, just trying to help…"

Elliot gave Fin's retreating back a small glare before he returned his attention back to his phone.

Running his hand over his face he tried to call her once more, but all he got was her machine just like last night. He slammed the phone down and bent down to retrieve his keys from one of his drawers but when he looked up his partner was walking in the precinct; looking more tired and worn out then he had ever seen her.

Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was slightly snarled and she didn't walk with her usually step . It was obvious to him that she did not sleep well the night before.

"Liv," Elliot spoke quietly as he made his way to her side. 

Olivia turned around to him and as she looked right into his blue eyes, she knew he would be there for her. He would help her and most importantly stand by her. Even though she knew this Olivia could not bring herself to tell him. This was her nightmare she couldn't wake up from, her issues that threatened to destroy her… it wasn't fair for him to be burdened with her problems. There was nothing he could do to help anyway. There was nothing anyone could do…

She opened her mouth to talk to him but no words slipped past her lips. Out of the corner of his eye Elliot seen Cragen walking towards them. 

"Jane Doe found under the Manhattan underpass," Cragen explained, "seems to be connected to the Johnston case." 

Olivia and Elliot nodded in understanding before they both grabbed their coats and turned to head out but Cragen stood in front of Olivia and shook his head. 

"Fin is with Elliot on this one, Narcotics need you," he said bluntly. 

Olivia and Elliot shared a look of clear cut annoyance for being forced to split up before they each headed their own separate ways 

Manhattan Narcotics office, 8:35 AM

Olivia sighed as she walked over to the main desk and was greeted by a large man in an officers uniform. 

"Detective Olivia Benson, I was told you were looking for me?" she told him as she flashed her badge. 

The man took her badge from her and carefully examined it for a moment before he handed it back to her. "Follow me please, Detective." 

Olivia followed the man and was lead to a room that had various plaques and newspaper clippings on the wall. In the middle was a desk were a fellow office was sitting. When Olivia walked in he stood up to greet her.

"Detective Benson, thank you for coming in," he greeted her kindly.

"What can I do for you?" Olivia asked uneasy.

"The drug bust from last night, the young girl seemed to take a shine to you," he began.

Olivia gulped "Is she okay?" she asked concerned.

"She's fine," the man assured her. "We believe she witnessed something that could lead to something a lot bigger then what we can handle. She asked officer Ramos if the 'other kids' were okay. When he asked what she meant she clammed up and started crying, wouldn't say another word to anyone. She won't talk to us and we were hoping you could try to get it out of her."

"I'll see what I can do," said Olivia with a determined nod.

The pair walked out of the room and down the corridor when they came to a stop at another door. Looking through the glass Olivia seen it was brightly colored room much more child friendly then the previous one. Sitting on a large red over stuffed sofa was Sofia. Olivia closed her eyes as the harsh memory from yesterday forced its way to the forefront of her mind.

When she entered the room the young girls eyes lit up as she seen the dark haired detective from last night. Jumping up to her feet she ran towards her.

"Olivia!" Sofia shouted as she crashed into Olivia and hugged her as tight as she could manage. 

Olivia wrapped her arms around the girl, withholding a groan at the pain that seemed to intensify tenfold the longer Sofia held on.  
>She lifted her to her higher hip forgetting the pain that she felt as she held the young girl close.<br>"Are you okay?" Sofia asked as she finally noticed the pain shining in Olivia's brown eyes.  
>"I'm fine, sweetie, I just have allergies," Olivia told the young girl with a false smile.<p>

Walking back over to the table that was in the room the pair took a seat. Sofia sat on Olivia's knee and buried her head in Olivia's shoulder and let out a contented sigh.

"Sweetheart is everything okay" Olivia spoke gently.

"They want to know things," she said quietly, almost like a whisper.

"What things?" Olivia asked.

"About my Dad," she muttered to the person who had gained her trust.

"Do you want to tell me about your dad?"

Sofia shook her head. "No."

"Why not?"

"He's my dad," said Sofia as if that had answered everything. "I don't wanna get him in trouble."

"Honey, no one is gonna get in trouble," Olivia lied with a kind smile. "But you have to tell the truth. Does… does your dad hurt you?"

Sofia shook her head and Olivia noticed tears shining in her green eyes. "N- no..." she muttered as she cast her gaze to the floor. Olivia felt her heart breaking for the young girl and shifted her so she was looking in her eyes. "Sofia, you have to tell me the truth okay? No one is gonna get mad at you, we all know anything that happened isn't your fault but we need the truth."

Sofia began to cry and shook her head defiantly. "I don't want him in trouble Bu- but I don't want him to hurt an- anyone else! He- he said I'll end up like them if I tell!"

The moment those words left Sofia's lips, sirens started going off in Olivia's head. What the hell had this girl's father done?

"Sofia," Olivia began softly. "Your daddy was lying. Nothing is going to happen if you tell me what he was doing, okay? I want to help you. And I know that you're a very brave, smart, very nice little girl and I know you don't want anyone else hurt or to get your daddy in trouble but you have to tell me the truth so I can help anyone else he's hurt. Please tell me what happened…"

Sofia sniffed before she nodded in agreement.

"Dad never hurt me but… but he has other little girls," Sofia started as she wiped her eyes with her sleeves. "Only… only they're not his."

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, struggling to keep both her revulsion out of her tone.

"He… he has other kids, under the basement… He send's them away and they don't come back."

Olivia's eyes widen in astonishment at Sofia's confession. For a moment silence surrounded the two before Olivia blinked a few times and tried her best to make it seem she wasn't shocked at the information she had just told her.

"Do… do you remember how many children?" Olivia asked.

"I think there was about fifteen." She bowed her head and sniffed as tears welled in her eyes again. "They always scream…"

Olivia nodded and forced a smile to her lips. "Good… Do you remember any of their names?"

Sofia shook her head. "No. They were all called..."

"Called what, Sofia?" Olivia prompted as she saw Sofia blush and cast her eyes to the floor..

"They were all… 'bitch'. Please don't tell my mom I said that word!" she begged desperately.

Olivia nodded. "I promise. I'll be right back, okay?"

With another fake smile to comfort her Olivia got up from the table and left the room shutting the door behind her.

She saw the other officers outside the room who had heard the conversation looking down right revolted.

"How the hell can one man do that to a bunch of children? It's disgusting!"

"Welcome to my world," Olivia muttered darkly as she pulled out her cell phone.

The man who Olivia assumed was the captain cleared his throat and crossed his arms. "So what do we do now?"

"You do nothing. This is an official SVU case now," she said as she walked away pulling out her phone to call Cragen.

Please Review


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, I'm sorry it has taken me so long to update, a few family problems came to light, and it has only now settled down. I want to thank all you my readers, reviewers and people who have put me on alert, I would like to say a a big thank you to my beta Bealletrix Wannabe 89. I hope you continue to enjoy this and once again I'm sorry for taking so long.

As Olivia hung up the phone on Cragen, the narcotics detective stood in front of her with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

"Sorry what?" he snapped looking at her and nodding towards the phone.

"This is now an SVU case, there are small children being put at risk by a sexual predator," Olivia told him in a stern voice.

"Do you know how long we have worked this case on this case for?" he bellowed, "How many all nighters? How many officers lost their families because of them going undercover for months with no contact?"

"I'm truly sorry, Detective-."

"Hoffman!"

"Detective Hoffman, but right now the welfare of these children are more important than a drug bust."

"I don't give a shit, Detective, this is OUR case!"

"And sexual assault done to a child takes precedence over the drugs."

Olivia turned to go back into the interview room where Sofia was waiting with a bowed head while fresh tears made their way down her face. Before she had taken a step Hoffman reached out and grabbed her wrist and twisted her back towards him.

"Did I say we were done?"

"Touch me again," she growled as she wrenched out of his grasp. "And I will collar you for sexual harassment!

He took a step towards her but Olivia held her ground. "Go ahead," she challenged. "Think I won't do it? Try me, Hoffman…"

Hoffman glared at her but made no other move to touch her. "This has been 2 years in the making then you just take it out of our hands? This is bull shit! It's OUR case!"

"Wrong! It WAS your case, now it's mine! The DA will take into account the drug charges, but right now these children need help!"

Without another word to the irate narcotics detective, Olivia walked back into the room where Sofia sat.

The young girl looked up at the sound off the door opening. Her eyes were full of fear and nervousness, not knowing what was going to happen next.

She had just told someone about her father, something he told her on a daily basis never to do. He had threatened her and her mother's life if she told a single soul the happenings of anything that went on in that house… oh god what if he was outside right now waiting for her? What if this had all been a trick just to see if she was going to tell?

Sofia whimpered softly as Olivia walked over to her and held out her hand. "Come on, sweetie," Olivia said kindly, "we're gonna go back to the place I work at okay?"

She looked madly around Olivia, expecting her father to be right out that door. She swallowed her fear and looked back up at Olivia and searched over her face. She wasn't sure what it was, but somehow, she knew she could trust the woman standing in front of her. There was no possible way anyone this kind could be lying to her…

With a tremor in her hand Sofia slowly slipped hers into Olivia's and got up from the chair.

Olivia picked up Sofia's jacket and they walked out the building, both of them ignoring the harsh glare given to them by Detective Hoffman and the other territorial narcotics officers.

Once outside Olivia opened the back door for her and, making sure the young girl was strapped safely into the car, the pair headed back to the precinct.

When they arrived Olivia heard the sound of gentle snores filling the car from the back seat. As Olivia stepped out the car a pain soared through her body that nearly paralyzed her. Taking a deep breath to try and ease it, she bent down to pick up the sleeping child from the back seat.

The moment she even began to pick her up the pain became unbearable. Olivia gasped as her hand clenched her abdomen and tears began to fill her eyes. Her purse dropped to the ground and Olivia groaned loudly, silently cursing the inexpensive leather bag. There was no way in hell she could bend down that far to pick it up right now.

Quickly blinking her unfallen tears away she tried once more to carry the young girl who was still soundly sleeping but the second attempt hurt even more then the first. As she let out a small gasp Trevor Langan walked by and saw her standing there holding her stomach in what was probably the worst pain she had ever been in.

He hurried over to her; the first thought going through his head was that she had been shot. "Are you okay, Detective?" he asked as he approached her, looking over her for any signs of blood.

"Yes." Even as the lie left her she knew he could see right past it but right then she didn't care. She groaned as she willed herself to stand back up straight to face him. "I just moved wrong, I'm fine. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up a client," he replied as he scooped up her purse and handed it to her.

"And would that be the murderer behind door number one or the child molester behind door two?" she couldn't help but jibe as she leaned against the car.

He chuckled before he held up the file in his hand. "The nineteen year old college freshman dating the seventeen year old high school senior behind door three actually but A for effort."

"I thought Cabot let him off?"

"Mom threatened to sue if she did so... Anyway what's going on with you? Why do you still look like you're lying on a bed of nails?"

"Nothing is going on," Olivia said a bit crossly then she intended, "I said I'm fine."

Olivia looked down at the sleeping child once more, trying to hide the pain she felt as she went to pick her up.

Trevor's hand rested on her shoulder and Olivia twisted away from the innocent touch giving him a look of annoyance to boot.

He held up his hands in mock surrender. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to piss you off." He motioned to Sofia. "May I?"

Olivia bit her lip as she looked from Sofia to Trevor. She would be frightened if she woke up in the arms of a strange man but on the other hand she didn't want to chance dropping her if the pain made it too difficult to hold onto her…

With a heavy reluctant sigh Olivia nodded. He gave her a brief smile before he bent down and picked up the young girl as easily as if he was picking up a feather that slept soundly in his arms as they walked into the squad room.

Elliot looked around as he heard the door open and the sight that greeted him was one he never expected to see; Olivia and Trevor walking in side by side while Trevor was holding a sleeping child in his arms. Olivia threw her purse on her desk before she lead the way to the crib were she nodded to the nearest unoccupied bed.

"Thank you," whispered Olivia as Trevor laid Sofia down on the mattress.

"No problem," he told Olivia just as softly.

They both reached for the inexpensive wool blanket to cover the young girl up at the same time. Trevor's hand brushed against Olivia's she recoiled a moment too late. He looked over at her and a chuckle escaped him at the timid blush that rose on Olivia's cheeks.

"Sorry," she muttered as she cleared her throat. "You go if you want. I got this now."

"You sure?"

"I think I can handle tucking a child into bed."

A frown grew on his face as his eyes traveled down to her stomach that she was still grasping in pain.

"Are you sure you're alright, Detective?"

"I'll be fine," she lied as she grasped the metal bar to the bed tighter in a failed effort to not show him how much pain she was really in. "I promise."

Her lie came undone just as quick as it left her mouth. As she bent down to grab the blanket she gasped softly, clutching her abdomen. Her head swirled as her pain threatened to overtake her and she felt her knees began to buckle but something was preventing her from collapsing to the ground.

"I got you," she heard a soft voice mutter low in her ear.

She forced herself to will away the pain long enough to realize just what was going on and why she was still standing. Trevor had both his arms wrapped tight around her chest and was holding her up.

Olivia groaned loudly, both at the intense cramping pain and the fact that she as being forced to rely on someone she loathed to help her.

"I'm fine," she muttered as she finally managed to support herself albeit wearily on her own two feet.

Trevor shook his head, the gray green in his eyes shining with worry. "Like hell you are. You almost passed out right in front of me."

"I'll be fine, I promise. I'm just a little dehydrated. Would you mind getting me some water?"

Trevor looked at her wearily and an unmistakably forced smile appeared on her lips. "Please?"

He sighed before he nodded. "Just… just sit down for a moment, okay? I'll be right back."

She gave him another forced smile that he had no intentions on returning. "Thank you."

With another weary look he left the crib and the moment he was out of sight Olivia let out a small cry of pain and collapsed on the bed nearest Sofia, clutching her stomach. It had never been this bad before. She should have just called in today. There was no way in hell she'd be able to get through the rest of the work day without someone catching on.

With a shaking hand Olivia reached in her purse and got out her bottle of pain meds and quickly popped two of them in her mouth and swallowed, praying that they would give her relief fast. Several deep breaths later she heard footsteps coming back into the crib and she quickly wiped her eyes and sat up on the mattress and hoped that Trevor wouldn't see through her mask.

"Thanks," Olivia told him as he handed her a paper cup full of water and sat down beside her.

"No problem. Although I kind of get the feeling that your co workers aren't really the biggest fans of me."

"And what would make you say that?" asked Olivia as she took a sip of the water.

"Well if looks could kill I'd be lying in a pine box right now."

Olivia chuckled before she downed the rest of her water. "Yeah I feel ya."

The two sat in an awkward silence for several long moments before Olivia cleared her throat and stood up, Trevor quickly following. "You should get going. The kid's probably scared enough already without thinking his lawyer bailed on him."

"Yeah you're probably right. Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"

"Yes. I told you, I'll be fine," she said as she looked up at him.

"Wow," she thought as her eyes met his. "He has really beautiful eyes."

Little did Olivia realize he was thinking the same thing about her…

Olivia gave him another smile, although this one was much less forced than before, and nodded towards Sofia.

"Thanks again for helping me with her."

"No problem," answered Trevor with his own smile. "Do I get to know who she is?"

"A girl involved in what looks like a child trafficking case."

"Jesus," he breathed as he tore his eyes away from Olivia and turned towards Sofia. "Is she… I mean was she..."

"No, she's fine. It's her father we're looking at but so far it looks like he hasn't done anything physical to her."

"Well that's good, right?"

Olivia shrugged as she looked over at the sleeping girl. "Sometimes mental and emotional abuse can hurt just as much if not more so than physical abuse so we'll see."

Trevor nodded in understanding before he cleared his throat. "I'm gonna get going, alright?"

"Sure. And thanks again."

"Don't mention it," he said with another soft smile.

Olivia quickly returned it before the two headed out into the bull pen where Fin, Munch, Cragen, and Elliot were all glaring daggers at the tall lawyer.

"Told you," he muttered softly to her as they walked towards the desks. "See you later, Detective," he told her as she reached her desk and he kept walking.

"Bye," she called out to his retreating back.

Olivia turned towards her co workers and raised a brow at their annoyed looks. "What?"

"You know what," Elliot snapped. "What the hell are you doing hanging out with defense scum, Liv?"

"We weren't 'hanging out'. He brought Sofia in from the car and got me a drink of water."

Munch folded his arms and looked over his sunglasses at her. "And the reason you couldn't is because…?"

"I twisted my back this morning and it hurts like a bitch and I didn't wanna chance dropping her. He was walking by, he offered to take her, I said yes."

"So why did he get you water as well?" Fin demanded.

"Because the fridge was out of wine and I wanted to at least pretend I was getting liquored up by him before he gave me a three minute screw," she answered dryly.

All four men eyes widened and she rolled hers. "I was a little bit dehydrated, I felt a little dizzy, so I asked him to get me a drink. Anything else you wanna know?" Her voice was angry and harsh, and while the glares did soften some, she knew it was gonna be a bad idea for Trevor to come around here anymore anytime soon.

"If you're all done analyzing the whole 4 minutes me and Langan spent together can we please talk about the information that Sofia told me?"

Cragen gave her a final glare before he grabbed a stack of folders in front of him and handed it to her.

"Sofia's father is Samuel Gabriella," Cragen explained. "He's been arrested once for breaking and entering, five times for possession of various drugs, and twice for selling narcotics to an undercover officer. Narcotics said they found no evidence any little girl lived there at all much less fifteen. They said that the place was a mad house when it got raided; people were grabbing stuff and running, flushing drugs down toilets, people were screaming, their dogs were fighting with the drug dogs… They said it's very easy they may have missed something."

"A crack pipe here or there sure but fifteen abused girls sleeping in the basement is a little hard to miss," Elliot said dryly.

"Also," Olivia remembered, "Sofia said her father kept them UNDER the basement. Maybe there's some sort of secret room or whatever under the basement that no one knows how to get to or even realized was there? How many times have we seen perps with their own private dungeons to hide their victims from everyone else?"

Cragen nodded in agreement before he nodded to Fin and Munch. "Munch, Fin; go to the house, take CSU with you. Search every miniscule inch of that house for some secret room then when you find it I'll call Narcotics and tell them to loan us Richie for a little while and see if he's high enough on the totem pole in this to convince the Chief of D's to let us keep him instead of handing him back to narcotics."

"Hang on, Cap, this is my case. I should be the one at the house," Olivia protested.

Cragen shook his head. "You're too involved with this already. I'm giving you and Elliot the Johnston case, Fin and Munch will take lead on the Gabriella case."

"Captain-!"

"That's an order, Benson," he interrupted. "I don't want another Calvin incident on my hands."

For a brief moment Olivia's eyes widened in shock and sorrow at his harsh words. "What?" she demanded as her eyes narrowed into angry slits. "You think every child that comes from a shitty home I'm gonna con their parents into signing them over to me like I did with Vivian?"

"Liv, no one thinks you conned Vivian into anything," said Elliot softly.

"I know someone who does," she snapped glaring harshly at Cragen who glared right back but made no move to argue with her accusations.

"Munch, Fin; go to the house. Olivia, Elliot; go talk to CSU." With a curt nod at Munch and Fin, Cragen headed back into his office.

"Sorry, Liv," Fin told her as he stood up and got on his coat with Munch following. "We didn't know he'd-."

"Its fine," Olivia interrupted. "It's not your fault. Go try to find that room."

Without another word from either of them they both headed out the door.

Elliot muttered as she grabbed her jacket and threw her arms into it. "You've been on edge lately."

"I'm fine," she snapped, "let's just go talk to CSU.

Olivia reached for her purse but ended up accidently spilling its contents over on both hers and Elliot's desk.

She quickly tried to grab the bottles of pain meds but Elliot had swiped them from his desk and up to his face before she had even moved an inch.

She held out her hands expectedly. "Give them back."

"What the hell is this?" he muttered as he read the labels. "Why are you taking prescription meds?"

"Give them back," she demanded, ignoring his question.

Elliot looked up from the bottles over at her. Concern was etched in his features as he looked over her face. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine just give me back my pills."

"Tell me what's wrong with you and I will."

"Nothing is wrong with me!" she shouted, ignoring the looks from the other people working in the unit.

"Liv, please," he pleaded softly. "I'm worried about you."

"Don't be," she said harshly. "Give them back to me now."

Reluctantly, Elliot handed over the orange bottles full of the tiny white pills. Olivia snatched them from him and shoved them back into her purse, glaring harshly at him.

Without another word towards her partner Olivia stormed away from him with Elliot looking after her.

Once she was out of sight he quickly scribbled down the name of the pills before picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

After several rings the person on the other end picked up.

"Agent Huang."

"George, it's Elliot," he muttered softly incase Olivia could still hear him. "I need a favor."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. I just found two bottles of prescription pills on one of our victims and I wanted to know what they do."

"It should say on the bottles."

"I don't have the bottles in front of me. Just the names."

"Why do I have a feeling I'm gonna be on the wrong end of someone's wrath here pretty quick?"

"You won't, I promise," Elliot assured him. "The names of the drugs are Celebrex and Percocet."

"Celebrex is a med used for really bad arthritis or menstrual pain and Percocet is a high caliber pain med."

Elliot's brow furrowed. What the hell was Olivia doing taking pain meds? Especially pain meds of that high caliber?

"Anything else?" Huang asked.

"No no, that's all for now. Thanks."

Without another word Elliot hung up the phone and only one thought raced through his mind that he wasn't able to shake.

"What the hell is going on with her?"

Please Review


	4. Chapter 4

I would like to thank every single one of my reader, reviewer's, the ones who put me on alert, and to my wonderful Beta Bellatrix wannabe 89. I hope you continue to enjoy my story, thank you.

Elliot sat at his desk for several moments letting the information Huang had just shared with him reel in his mind. His partner was hurting more then she was letting on. Hurting enough she was taking strong pain medications and not telling him anything. He needed to talk to her and he needed to talk to her now…

Elliot stood up from his chair and walked over to the elevator, his eyes widening slightly when he saw no trace of her. Hitting the button repeatedly like it would make it come any faster he finally gave up on it as he ran down the stairs to the garage where he found her sitting in her white SUV, her head resting on the steering wheel, her body shaking with sobs. Knowing she would still be very angry with him for asking questions he preceded with caution.

Tapping gently on the window she looked up, her face not filled with anger and annoyance like he thought it would be but filled with hurt and pain. Tears ran in streaks down her face as she motioned for him to enter the car.

"I'm sorry," he told her as he shut the door behind him. "I shouldn't have asked questions but I was worried," he began.

"Its fine," she interrupted as she used the back of her hand to mop away her tears, "just leave it alone everything is fine."

"No it's not, Liv. I talked to Huang and he told me what those medications were used for."

She whipped her head towards him but he was undeterred by the look she gave him. "Why are you taking these pain meds?"

"That's none of your business."

"You're my partner and my best friend and I can see that you're hurting but you won't tell me why and it..." Elliot sighed as he hung his head, almost ashamed of the words that were about to leave his mouth. "It scares me to know that you're in pain and you're not talking to me about it."

"I don't need to talk to you," Olivia said harsher then she had intended. "This is my problem, my nightmare. Talking about it for 10 minutes over a pizza and beer isn't gonna help this time. There's nothing you can do to help me so please just leave me alone."

Elliot shook his head. "I can't do that. Please, Liv." His voice lowered considerably and he reached out to grab her hand but she pulled away before he could. "Let me help you."

Tears flooded her brown eyes once more as she turned to look at him. "You can't help me… no one can."

The two detectives stared deep into each other's eyes for several moments before Olivia turned away from her blue eyed partner.

"Liv," Elliot began softly but Olivia interrupted him again.

"Get out."

"I can't do that. Not until you talk to me."

Olivia sniffed and nodded in what appeared to be understanding before she turned to him again. "Fine… then I'll leave."

"Olivia, wait!" Elliot cried as she opened the door and hurried out of the car ignoring his calls to her slamming the metal door behind her.

He sighed leaning back in the finished leather seat watching Olivia leave the parking garage. He knew something was amiss with her and even if it cost him the best friend he ever had, he was going to figure out what it was…

* * *

><p>"What the hell is this shit?" Samuel demanded as Fin and Munch led him into one of the interrogation rooms with his hands cuffed tight behind his back, his slight Spanish accent growing heavier the angrier he became. "My lawyer got me bail on those drug charges, what the hell am I doing back in cuffs?"<p>

"You need to start talking about that room we found under your basement," Fin snapped as he threw the man into the chair.

Samuel used his legs to steady himself in the uncomfortable metal chair. He scoffed and narrowed his dark brown eyes in confusion and threw his greasy mop of long brown hair back away from his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about, man."

Fin slapped a folder in front of him and slammed it open, holding the pictures that CSU had taken of the room hidden under their basement. "We found your nasty ass room underneath your basement you tried hiding from us," Fin spat. "The thing had more rats and cockroaches in it then an alleyway!"

"I bought the house three years ago from a friend of mine. I had no idea there was any hidden room underneath the basement!"

"Dungeon is more like it," Fin spat as he pulled out more photos. "Handcuffs with dried blood on it, raggedy ass blankets and cots, it stunk so badly down there I almost puked…"

"Look, man, I'm telling you I don't know about any damn room you're talking about! Alright you're loco, man!"

"So the fresh but cold fast food came from where?" Munch asked as he took a seat in front of him. "Did it just magically appear there?"

Samuel licked his dry lips and shrugged. "I don't know. Look people go in and out of that house all the time. Half the time when I ain't even home so go bug one of them!"

"No, Samuel, we're bugging you!" Fin snarled as he pulled out another picture. "We're bugging you because it's YOUR house! Hair and blood was found down there and we got it on good authority you had fifteen little girls living down there who somehow magically vanished!"

Samuel narrowed his eyes and turned back to Munch. "Where's my meja? I wanna see my Sophia now!"

Fin scoffed and a look of disbelief over shadowed his features. "You ain't getting your hands near her."

"She's my daughter!" he shouted. He went to stand up but Fin shoved him back forcibly into his chair.

"Sit down!"

"No! Tell me where she is! I have every right to see her!"

"Like hell you do! Now tell us about the girls or I will bounce your sorry ass back to Cuba!" Fin threatened the man.

"You wouldn't," said Samuel with a smug grin on his face

"Watch me" Fin growled flipping his phone open and began dialing numbers.

"Call them, but you are under the impression I know something important, so you wouldn't compromise that." His grin spread even wider as he smirked up at Fin.

Fin nodded in agreement before he kicked the seat from under him.

Samuel let out a spew of curse words in a language neither could understand as he fell and hit his head against the table.

Munch got up from the table and grabbed Fin by the shoulders and hurried him out of the room shutting the door behind them.

"What the hell was that?" Cragen shouted at his two detectives.

"He fell," Fin said darkly.

Cragen shook his head in disbelief before he pointed at the man who was struggling to get back up from the floor without the use of his arms. "You do realize even the stupidest lawyer in the world isn't gonna believe that right?"

"He tried to get up after I told him to remain seated and he fell. Ain't that right, Munch?"

"That's right…ish," Munch said with a careless shrug.

Cragen rolled his eyes and sighed but decided to ultimately let it drop as he turned back to the man behind the one way mirror. "He's not gonna talk to you now, you know that right?"

"He shouldn't be talking to anybody since he asked for a lawyer," a man's voice rang from behind them dripping with superiority.

All three turned towards the doorway and their eyes landed on the man who had spoken.

His dark blonde hair was slicked back neatly against his head and his dark brown eyes was filled with a cold callousness that sent a shuddering chill through the three veteran officers while a smug grin played on his lips. His suit was more expensive then all of their weekly paychecks combined and on his wrist shone a large diamond encrusted Rolex.

He couldn't have been more then forty and to call him handsome would have nearly been an insult to his looks.

"I'm here for my client, Samuel Gabriella." His voice matched his features. Rich and smooth with a posh English accent sent chills up their spines.

"And you are?"

"Alexander Parrish," he said with a smirk. "Attorney at law with Henshall and Langan. Now if one of you wouldn't mind telling me why my client is back in interrogation mere hours after he was released on bail for another charge?"

"Kidnapping," Fin spat.

The man nodded and they glared at him as a look of mock concern was painted on his features. "Oh how _terribly _tragic. Did you see any children at the house? If no then last time I checked you had to have a person in hand to call it kidnapping."

"We found blood and hair down there."

Alexander shrugged. "A meaningless gesture. Since when is consensual rough sex a crime?"

"Your client claims he didn't even know that room existed."

"That's not to say some of his vile friends didn't."

Munch glared at the man from behind his darkened shades. "We also have an eye witness."

"Wonderful. And I presume this witness is reliable and not, just off the top of my head, a scared frightened seven year old girl who's in the middle of a brutal custody war?"

"How the hell do you-."

"Lucky guess. Now if you're done harassing my client and since he's not under arrest, I'll be taking him home."

The three detectives glared at Alexander who simply smirked before he went in the room shutting the door behind him.

"I don't like him," Fin muttered darkly as he watched Alexander help Samuel up from the chair.

Cragen nodded in agreement as he pulled out his handcuff keys and remained silent as Alexander led him out of the room.

Alexander handed him to Cragen who swiftly undid the locks on his cuffs. "This cut on his head-."

"He fell," Fin snarled, daring Samuel to contradict his words in front of him.

Alexander scoffed in disbelief. "I'm sure. Well, Detective, I'd keep an eye out so that you don't 'fall' anytime soon."

Fin's eyes widened for a hair of a moment before he narrowed them at the attorney and stepped forward. "Was that a threat, counselor?"

"Oh don't be absurd, Detective" Alexander said with a laugh. "I don't make threats. I just keep promises."

"Your clients free to go," Cragen barked, stopping Fin from saying anything more. "Take him and get the hell out of my precinct."

With a final smug grin from both of them Alexander and Samuel walked out of the hallway with all three men staring coldly after them.

"Prick," Fin snarled deep in his throat. "If that bastard is brave enough to take me on, he better be prepared for what happens afterwards!"

"No one is taking anyone on." Cragen's voice was low enough so only Munch and Fin could hear his words. "Just avoid him if he comes back to the precinct. Now I want you two to get over to CSU and sit on them until they come back with DNA on the blood and hair you found in the basement, you understand me?"

Fin and Munch nodded wordlessly before the trio headed out to the bullpen.

Cragen spotted him first and his eyes narrowed in hate.

"Get the hell away from there!" Cragen shouted as he rushed over to Alexander who was flipping through a file on Olivia's desk with Fin and Munch right on his heels.

Alexander quickly shut the folder and took a step back from Olivia's desk while the three of them ran in front of it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing looking through my detectives files like that?" snarled Cragen, "those are private case files!"

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Relax yourself, Captain. Just seeing if there were any wrongly accused men in need of counsel.

"We're all set, thanks," said Munch dryly.

Alexander glowered at Munch for the briefest of moments before he turned back to an amused looking Samuel.

"Samuel," he said with a small bow. "After you."

They both turned towards the door way when they saw someone who made them both stop dead.

A woman who was no older than thirty with soft brown eyes and long brown hair that was braided in a plait down her back stood in the doorway. A loose fitting pair of raggedy jeans hung low on her waist and a form fitting white tank top with a red flannel jacket over top of it completed the measly outfit.

She had the face of someone who had once been extraordinarily beautiful but who was now aged with stress.

Samuel narrowed his eyes at her and a fierce growl grew deep in his throat.

The woman spotted him and her eyes widened with fear and she froze like a deer caught in the headlights.

"You little bitch!" Samuel snarled before he ran full speed at her.

Fin and Munch took off like a shot after him and Fin tackled him to the ground while Munch ran over gently took the frightened woman by the shoulders and led her away from the fray.

"You're under arrest," Fin snarled as he wrenched his hands behind his back.

"For what?" Alexander demanded as he went up to the pair. "Because as far as I know he never laid a single hand on that woman."

"Please," the woman pleaded as Munch led her to his desk, her meek voice laced with tears. "Please, Samuel, I just came to get my daughter."

"You're not fucking taking her!" he roared as he struggled against Fin's grasp.

"She's mine!" she sobbed. "Please just leave her alone! You've hurt her enough!"

"Samuel, let's go," Alexander demanded as he grabbed his arm and hauled him away from Fin and headed towards the elevator.

"You're dead, you bitch!" Samuel yelled as he allowed himself to be pulled away. "You fucking hear me? You're dead!"

The young woman collapsed into the chair and covered her face with her hands as she began to sob. Fin raced over to her while Munch grabbed a box of tissues off of Fin's desk and handed her one.

"Wh- why can't he just leave me alone?" she cried through her tears as she shook her head. "I don't understand it! He HATES Sophia!"

"Are you Sophia's mother?" Fin asked softly.

The woman nodded and dabbed her eyes with the tissue. "I'm Carla Hernandez; I got a call from a captain Cragen saying my daughter is here. Why didn't you tell me that Samuel would be here as well?"

"I didn't know, Mrs. Hernandez, I'm so sorry," Cragen apologized. "We thought we'd still have him in interrogation?"

"Wha- what did he do?" she asked as she looked between the detectives.

Fin bit his lip before he cleared his throat and spoke. "Kidnapping. Your daughter told us he had fifteen young girls hidden in a room beneath his basement. When we found it we found hair and blood and evidence he did have people living there but no children."

Carla's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Oh my god. I… I knew he was into the drugs but kidnapping? Oh god do you think he could have hurt my Sophie?" she finished as fresh tears made their way down her face.

"She said he didn't and we believe her," Munch assured her with a comforting smile. "Now, Mrs. Hernandez, could you think of anything, anything at all, that would lead you to believe your husband was kidnapping little girls?"

Carla shook her head as she wiped her unfallen tears away. "No but I mean we don't live together and we only stayed together for a year after Sophia was born. We've been in and out of courts ever since and he never lets me see his house, he always drops her off and picks her up. Please, officers," she pleaded as she wiped more tears away. "I swear I don't know anything more. I just want to take my baby home."

Munch turned towards Cragen who gave a curt nod and disappeared into the crib.

"I promise I'll call if I think of anything," she said as she stood up. "And please don't be afraid to call me if you need anything. I'll do anything to keep him locked up and away from my daughter."

Fin nodded in understanding and handed her his card. "If you need anything," he told her as he gently rubbed her shoulder. "Please don't be afraid to call me."

Carla managed a teary smile and looked into his eyes and a teary smile fell on her lips. "I will. Thank you, officer."

"Fin Tutuola," he said with his own smile.

The two held their smile for another moment before Cragen reemerged with an incredibly tired Sophia holding onto his hand.

"Where's Olivia?" Sophia muttered as she rubbed the tired from her eyes.

"I got someone better," Cragen told her as he pointed towards her mother.

Sophia looked to where he was pointing and a beaming smile threatened to overtake the young girls face.

"Mama!" she cried as she ran towards her.

Carla let out a joyous cry and sprinted towards the young girl and picked her up in her arms and hugged her as tight as she could. A sob escaped her as she buried her head in her daughter's hair and embraced her tighter. "I missed you so much, my angel," she whispered softly, kissing her on the top of the head.

The trio of detectives looked on with smiles on their faces as Carla turned towards them still holding onto Sophia as tight as she could. "Can I take her home now?"

"Of course," Cragen said with a smile and another nod.

Carla let out a joyful cry and without another word or glance towards them she left the precinct, holing her daughter tight in her arms

* * *

><p>"Pick up," Alexander muttered darkly into the ringing phone as he waited for Samuel to emerge from the restaurant bathroom. "Come on, pick up the damn phone!"<p>

After two more rings a voice that belonged to the person who frightened him to death finally obeyed his command. "What?" was their only short and annoyed answer.

"I got something to tell you," Alexander muttered softly so that he was not overheard by anyone else. "You know those older girls we've been getting rid of?"

"What about them?" the voice snapped and Alexander held back a whimper of fear.

"They got picked up by somebody. Manhattan SVU to be exact."

"Damn it!" the voice snarled. "Don't we have anyone on our payroll there?"

"No one."

"Shit. Okay who's investigating them?"

"I don't know I didn't get that far. All I know is that it's Manhattan SVU who's got it and I think some chick is the one investigating them if the pictures on the desk are of her."

The voice on the other end sighed loudly and Alexander held his breath, praying he wouldn't be punished for his lack of information.

"Keep an eye on them," the voice demanded and Alexander let out an inaudible sigh of relief. "Make sure whoever it is doesn't get to close."

"What do I do if they start digging?"

The voice let out a cruel, cold, merciless chuckle. "If she or anyone else from that squad starts digging to deep you know what to do with them, Parrish. DON'T disappoint me."

With those final threatening words and a tiny beep, the heartless person on the other end of the line hung up their phone…

Please Review


	5. Chapter 5

I own no one but my own people and thank you to my beta Bellatrix Wannabe 89. Enjoy :)

Coming to a stop at the elevator to go back up to the precinct, Olivia ran through everything the past few days had thrown at her. She hadn't even told her partner, the person she trusted most in the world. She trusted him with her life but she still couldn't bring herself to burden him her problem, and as she said herself her own nightmare. This was bigger than anything she had dealt with, it was consuming her, yet she continued to put on a brave front.

Once she had reached the squad room Olivia took a breath and composed herself.

Holding her head high in mock authority she walked right by the team and headed straight for the cribs. She silently opened the door, expecting to see the young girl still asleep but instead the bed that Sophia was laying in was now empty, the scratchy green blanket that covered the young girl folded neatly at the bottom of it.

Panic began to set in. She had only left her for a short while!

Olivia couldn't believe that a young child in her care had gone missing from right under her nose. Spinning round she rushed straight towards Fin. He looked straight over at her and resisted the urge to flinch as she rounded on him.  
>"Where's Sophia?" she asked concerned but her voice strong and demanding.<br>"Her mother came to get her," said Fin putting some files in the drawer,  
>"She was allowed to take her?" Olivia questioned as her eyes widened in disbelief.<p>

"Don't worry, Liv, ASC cleared her. She's safe with her" Fin assured her.

"What about Samuel?" Olivia asked thinking about what Sophia told her a few days ago.  
>"She doesn't live with Samuel," explained Fin, "Carla has a nice house in the East side."<br>"Oh… Right… At least she is with her Mom and not Samuel," Olivia spoke quietly.

Emotions began to swamp her body; the feeling of loss hit her again. She had tried hard to keep her emotions detached but she was finding that very hard to do these days. She couldn't bear to lose another… not after Calvin.

Looking on as Olivia's eyes glazed over with tears he knew she wouldn't let fall in front of him Fin felt somewhat bad. He knew that being taken off the Gabriella case hurt Olivia. He thought of it as being a kick in the teeth to her since Cragen all but admitted he had doubts about her ability to do the job that she had done so well for the past 12 years. One case, one moment that her judgment had slipped and it was all coming back to haunt the detective for the rest of her life it seemed. It wasn't fair.

Olivia went to sit at her desk her head spinning with the information Fin had just given her when Cragen caught sight of her he shouted to her and Elliot.

She resisted the urge to sigh and got up from her chair, her stomach tying itself in knots with every step she took.

Every thought seemed to turn to Sophia; was she okay? Had Samuel got to them? What if her mother wasn't fit to give her the support that little girl needed right now?

Olivia realized that she had let herself get too close again. She cursed herself for letting this happen once but now a second time was making it all the more harder. It felt like she had lost Calvin all over again.

She knew better then to get too close to the victims, her training had taught her how but she couldn't help it. Something about Calvin and Sophia made her react in ways she wouldn't usually.  
>Willing the memories of the two children that had looked to protect her away from the forefront of her mind Olivia walked into Cragen's office where Elliot and the older man were waiting patiently for her.<p>

"I want to go over the details of the Johnston case with you two, you need to be caught up on," he told them pointing to the seats in his office after Olivia had shut the door behind her. Cragen took a seat opposite his finest detectives.  
>The two detectives took a seat and opened the file their Captain had laid out for them. They had not yet had a chance to fully look over the case, since it only had recently been assigned to them. All they knew was that there were 5 victims all female.<br>"What is the common denominator between them?" asked Elliot as his eyes skimmed the contents of the folder.  
>"All five girls have a long history of physical and sexual abuse. They also all have the same marking on their left foot," explained Cragen he took a photo and held it out to them to see and sure enough all five victims had a single solitary square on the bottom of their foot that looked like it had been branded on the skin.<br>Olivia and Elliot continued to flip through the file coming across the photographs of the victims as they did, noting that not one of them looked older than 10.

Olivia's heart began to ache. She couldn't understand why anyone would want to hurt a child when there were so many people in the world who, like herself, desperately wanted a child and couldn't have one yet somewhere, someone in her city was snatching children's lives; children who should be out playing and going to school not lying in the morgue.  
>The dark growl of her partner roused Olivia from her thoughts. "What else?" Elliot demanded.<br>"Cause of death for all the victims was one shot to the head at point blank range," Cragen reminded them.  
>"Execution style, like they were helpless animals," said Elliot disgusted.<br>"Whoever did this isn't messing around," Olivia said looking up at them, her voice holding a small quiver. She couldn't determine if she wanted to cry or if it was the anger building inside her.  
>"They were all dressed in the same clothes as well," Cragen said as he placed another picture on the faded wooden table.<p>

Both detectives leaned forward and looked at the photo. The similarities were clearly evident. Olivia let out a small gasp as she took in the full scale of these vicious attacks.

Nearly every inch of their skin was covered in ugly bruising both faded and new as if it had happened moments before their deaths. Old and fresh scars ran rampant over their bodies. Olivia held back a shudder of revulsion when she saw the photos that showed more bruising and scars on their private body parts.

But, Olivia thought to herself as she looked at the crime scene photos before the victims had been washed up by their medical examiner it appeared apart from the gunshot wound to their head they were there was not a single injury on their bodies. Someone had gone to great lengths to make sure their marks were hidden with, as Warner had found out for them, the best cover up and concealment makeup that money could buy.  
>"What have these they poor girls done to be treated like this?" Olivia spoke out loud to no-one in particular.<br>"Every time a new case comes in, I ask myself the very same question," Cragen replied softly. Olivia and Elliot continued to look through the photos. It just didn't make sense to any of them.

"We need to find the significance of the clothing if there is any," continued Cragen. "They look like they're more expensive then what you could buy at your local department store. All of the victims were dumped around the same location go see if any high end stores around there that can give you anything."

Olivia and Elliot nodded in agreement before

With a nod and realizing that they were being dismissed the duo got up from the seats and left, shutting the door behind them.

Olivia rubbed her temples as she looked over at Elliot who was eyeing her.

"What?" she asked darkly as they made their way over to their individual desks.

She wasn't fooled by the careless shrug or the 'nothing' that escaped his lips.

"El, tell me what's going on," said Olivia struggling to hold back a sigh of annoyance. She wasn't in the mood for guessing games right now.

He cleared his throat and stared down at the large white tiles flecked with bits of gray. "It's just… you seem to be a little more attached than usual."

Olivia crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at the man in front of her. "And what does that mean?"

"Nothing. But… you seem to be having a harder time dealing with cases regarding children since Calvin's mother took him back."

"Do not refer to that crack whore bitch as his mother," warned Olivia with a fierce look that would have sent most men whimpering and hiding. "A mother loves and cares about her child, not drop him off with a complete stranger and then try to use him as a get out of jail free card!"

"Vivian then, but anyway Sofia's gone now, you're keeping secrets from me, you're on serious pain killers and I was just wondering if you were okay enough to investigate this."

"I'm fine!" Olivia spat with contempt heavy in her tone. "Let's just go."

She turned on her heel and went to storm away from the precinct when Elliot's voice called out to her. "Neither of them are really yours you know."

Olivia turned back to him with storm clouds in her eyes but Elliot refused to back down.

"I get it, you care about Sofia and Calvin but it's time to move on, Liv. Neither of them are yours and you… you can't dwell on what happened for the rest of your life. You knew Calvin for what, a month? Sofia for a day and a half?" He walked up to her and his voice lowered so that only she could hear him. "This isn't healthy, Liv. Maybe… maybe you should take a break. Just for a little while."

Olivia stared at him with a strong mixture of anger, hurt, and the smallest inkling of jealously.

"Didn't realize there was a time restraint on how long you have to take care of a child to love it," she snapped.

"Liv, I'm sorry," Elliot tried but Olivia grabbed her purse and turned tail as she left the precinct with hot tears making it nearly impossible to see.

She wiped the wet badges of spinelessness from her eyes as walked the familiar route to the coffee shop, situated only a few blocks from the precinct trying to clear her mind from the events that seemed to be suffocating her as they continued to pile on top of her.

First Calvin had been taken by that wretched miserable excuse for a human being, then she was told that she could never have her own children to love and care for like she had done to the brown hair boy who had stolen her heart, then Sofia, one of the kindest sweetest girls she had known who looked to the detective to help her, was being abused by her drug addicted father and then was taken from her by the mother who actually let Sofia go and visit him on a volunteer basis, and to top it all off both Cragen and now Elliot apparently was skeptical about her ability to do her job.

More tears inundated her eyes and once more she harshly wiped them away, hating herself for showing this much weakness.

Olivia walked into the coffee shop with a sigh of relief. It was quant little mom and pop shop with the blended scents of a multitude of flavors of coffees and crèmes as well as a large variety of sweet pastries filling the air. Several oak wood tables with matching ladder back chairs was stationed on the clean brilliantly white tile floor while large crystal clear French styled windows were placed periodically on the wall every few feet. A large solid wood down in the back led to the stores supply room and colossal sized coffee makers stood in the back of the cashier and the glass counter that doubled as a display case for their colorful cakes and pastries.

But the most inviting thing about it was it was quiet unlike most coffee houses in the city especially around a police station. It was a place where one could go and think about whatever was on their mind with a hot cup of coffee to help them with the problems that the inhabitants were plagued with.

Taking a seat near the window Olivia began to lose herself in memories of Calvin and day dreams of Sofia when she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Coming out of her thoughts Olivia looked up and spotted the man who had interrupted the silence she had hoped to achieve.  
>"May I?" Trevor Langan asked motioning to the empty seat beside her as he held a small cup of coffee in one hand and an expensive looking leather briefcase in the other.<br>"Course you can," she replied with a soft smile that she hoped would seem inviting rather than indicate that she wanted nothing more than to be left alone in silence.  
>Trevor put down his brief case next to him and took a seat across from her.<br>"How are you? You know, after yesterday," he inquired.  
>"A lot better actually." She smiled graciously hoping the lie wouldn't sneak in. "I actually wanted to thank you. I don't know what came over me."<br>"Good," he said with a casual nod. "And what about the little girl? Is everything okay with her?" asked Trevor gently.  
>"The case is still ongoing but she is safe at the moment and as long as her father doesn't come near her I think she'll be okay," she told him.<p>

"Good," Trevor said with a casual smile. "I'm glad she's safe."

"Yeah, she is with her mom who seems to really care about her so we'll see," Olivia replied as she returned the friendly look. "I was actually wondering if you could maybe help me with something."

"Help you with what?" Trevor replied a bit skeptically.

"They need a lawyer. A good one, to make sure that Samuel doesn't touch them," Olivia informed the tall lawyer.

"I'm sure I can get someone to look into it for them," said Trevor, not realizing exactly what Olivia had meant.

"They need a shark, Trevor, and well you're the deadliest one I know," said Olivia with a slight smile.  
>A look of understanding came over Trevor's face. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the sound of Olivia's cell phone ringing. He took a sip of coffee while Olivia checked the caller ID. Sighing she answered with her usual "Benson."<br>"Liv, I'm so sorry about what I said but we got another victim, same circumstances as the others."

Olivia bit back a harsh or angry comment that she felt her partner fully and justifiably deserved and instead reached in her pocket and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen.

"What's the address?"

"Ward St, building 769, apartment 5D," Elliot told her.

"On my way."

Without waiting for any further instructions or goodbyes Olivia hung up the phone and turned towards Trevor.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," she said putting her phone back in her pocket.

"No problem and I'll look into it for you," Trevor smiled knowing that she meant for him to take the case. "Pro bono,"

"Thanks so much. I'll call your office later," Olivia replied as she stood up from the chair

"Here take my card and just call my cell whenever you need me," Trevor said as he too stood up. He handed the card to her and with a smile Olivia took it in her hand and put in her purse.

Olivia knew that the case wasn't hers anymore but she had to help somehow. She couldn't just walk away and forget about it, it was at the forefront of her mind and she knew it would be there for a long while. She also knew Cragen would be upset about her still working it, never mind getting Carla a lawyer and that lawyer being Trevor Langan as well making it ten times worse, but all she was thinking about was Sofia.

Olivia reached into her pocket and pulled out her own business card and handed it to him. "Here's mine, call me whenever but please keep me updated with her," Olivia pleaded.

Trevor looked at her as if she suddenly sprouted two heads. "No question."

Olivia felt a sort of glowing admiration for the man standing before her and couldn't help but smile at him. "Thank you, Trevor. This means a lot to me."

With a final smile Olivia bid him goodbye and left the coffee shop.

Picking up her pace Olivia ran through the busy streets back to the precinct where the detective raced over to where the sedan was parked where Elliot was waiting for her.

Pretending not to notice her partner Olivia slid into the passenger side of the car while a silent Elliot got into the driver's side.

A tense uncomfortable silence surrounded them while Elliot drove. Both wanted to say something to the other one but couldn't find the words to do it.

Once they arrived at the address dispatch had given them they thankfully got out of the car and walked over to the crowd of people. Showing their badges to the police they were led to the hotel room by a uniformed officer. Once they entered the room Olivia concurred it would have been a nice room had it not been for the blood splatters and the dead body.

She looked around and the first thing she noticed with a slightly queasy stomach was that the once white walls was thick with blood and the soft satin bed sheets that were once the same brilliant white of the walls were now saturated with the victims blood.  
>The woman couldn't have been older than twenty five with long curly blonde hair and dark blue eyes and what was once a beautiful body was covered in fresh bruises and stab wounds. Her plus red lips were closed tight and Olivia could see that there was some sort of clear hardened goop on her lips<p>

Olivia and Elliot almost seemed to skim past the mundane violence they were likely to see on most of their victims and instead focused on the vast deep puddle of dark red blood that pooled underneath her that seemed to come from inside her as well as the two horrifically bloody gaping holes where her breasts would have been. Olivia shuddered and swallowed her fear as she begged with her body not to throw up. They did notice that unlike the other victims though, with this one they didn't bother to hide the old or faded bruises and scars that marked her body.

Melinda was at the foot of the bed and stood up when she noticed the two detectives. A look of mild horror and disgust was evident on her usually calm features. "When you find this sick bastard please let be the one to put the needle in his arm. She was raped, strangled, and shot just like all the others but this time she had over fifty stab wounds, some of them right between her legs."

Melinda took a deep breath as if she was willing herself not to become sick at the information she was about to share with the detectives. "They also super glued her shut then ripped her back open with the knife

"Jesus," Olivia breathed in horrified amazement as she looked down at the body.

Elliot's blue eyes went wide with revulsion. "They super glued her… her folds shut then cut them back open?"

Melinda nodded before she shuddered in disgust, an unusual motion for the usually calm, cool, and collected medical examiner. "That wasn't the worst of it. The son of a bitch cut her breasts off while she was still alive."

Olivia's eyes closed and once again she was pleading with herself not to become sick in front of her colleagues. The brunette detective willed herself to take several shaky breaths before she spoke. "This woman was tortured, somebody had to have heard."

"They super glued her mouth shut," said Warner as she pointed to the sealed lips. "No one would have heard a sound. There's also too much blood for DNA," she added already knowing what they were going to ask next. "Once I get her cleaned up we might have a fraction of a chance that some of him got stuck on the superglue."

"Anything else?" Elliot asked as he too urged himself not to become physically sick at the woman on the bed.

Warned nodded and grabbed the victim's leg and lifted showing the two detectives the bottom of her foot.

"Same markings as the previous victims," noted Elliot as he pointed to the unfortunately familiar brand on the victim's foot.

"Only this brand's a lot older than the other ones. Who's ever doing this gave her that a long time ago, probably before any of your other victims were even born," informed Warner.

"What the hell are we dealing with?" Olivia asked out loud as her eyes remained glued to the mark on her foot.

"A monster," Elliot muttered as he too couldn't tear his eyes away from the burnt skin.

As the two detectives stood there looking at the viciously mutilated body of the girl, somehow their argument they had earlier seemed a lot less important…

"Well whoever did this this killing was a lot more personal than the younger girls," Elliot muttered as he looked over the body.  
>"It was over kill," said Olivia as she reached into her pocket and pulled out gloves.<br>Elliot nodded in agreement as he too pulled on gloves. "He was trying to send a message," Elliot spoke as he continued to look around.  
>Olivia made her way to the far end of the bed and picked up the torn remnants of expensive panties and bra as well as a short burgundy colored dress that cost at least an entire month of Olivia's pay check.<br>"No ID but look at the way she is dressed. I'm guessing call girl?" Elliot offered as he nodded towards the clothes Olivia had a hold of.  
>"That underwear alone costs $150. I'd say a high end call girl if she was one," said Olivia as she put the clothes into individual evidence bags.<br>"Pimp war maybe?" Elliot suggested

"This was too violent for a pimp war. Too personal," Olivia said her voice stern and full of authority.

Elliot and Olivia had begun to collect statements from the few witnesses that were in the hotel at the time of death and left with pretty much the same amount of information they had when they arrived; absolutely nothing.

When they were sure they could get nothing more from their witnesses and was sure they had all they needed, they packed everything up and went back to the precinct. Although this time the silence on the way back was much more severe with thoughts of the crime scene racing through their every thought.

When they got back to the precinct they wordlessly got out and made their way into the squad room where they started setting up all the information they had gathered relating to the case on the white board.  
>"Okay, what we got?" Olivia said looking over the board, sitting on the edge of the table. She decided that whatever argument Elliot and she had earlier must now take second place to the crimes this sick freak was committing.<br>Elliot looked over the board and withheld a shudder of revulsion at the photos of the dead girls. "They're connected. I don't know how but there has to be a way to connect them to each other."  
>"Nothing adds up, the perp is all over the place," Olivia stated,<br>"A Chinese girl, a Russian, one's African American, another one's Italian and two Caucasian females so we know our guy doesn't care about race."

"Or class." Two were middle class, one girl's parents were one welfare, the Italian's parents were fairly wealthy, and so far no one seems to be claiming Jane Doe number 3," Olivia sighed as she pointed to the crime scene photo of the third victim they found. She was ten years old with a face of a damaged angel. Her blonde curly hair was matted with blood and her blue eyes wide with terror but so far no one had come to claim her or put out an Amber alert on the poor girl.

"Two were found in a park, three were found in alleys and the oldest one was found in a hotel room," Elliot continued  
>"Our perp doesn't seem to have a preference for age, race, class, or location, he's all over the map," said Olivia slightly disgruntled.<p>

The dup looked over the board for several moments hoping that something would jump up and help them discover what these girls had in common with one another growing increasingly frustrated as the seconds ticked by.

"I think they may be part of the one larger operation," Elliot said as his eyes scanned the photos.  
>"You mean these girls may be working for the same John?" Olivia asked making sure she heard right.<br>"It makes sense. The brands are almost as old as they are, there's faded bruises and scars on all of them, and each girl has the same marking on the foot, It's a classic sign of ownership,"

Olivia couldn't help but agree but at the same time both knew as of yet they had nothing on this perp so speculation wasn't getting them anywhere. They had both agreed it was the same perp however; there were too many signatures to suggest otherwise.

Several hours later they were no closer finding any more evidence then they were when they had started the day. They had visited any expensive clothing store around the areas where the victim had been found but no one could remember anyone buying those specific outfits much less five pairs of them.

By one a clock Cragen finally realized that neither Olivia or Elliot were planning on going home that night or get a single moment of sleep until this case was solved, he put his foot down and told them go home, get a few hours of rest and come back ready to start fresh tomorrow.

The two detectives grudgingly agreed when they finally left the precinct it was nearing midnight.

As they were walking to the parking garage Elliot tried in vain to talk to Olivia one more time, but like before she dismissed his concerns and bid him farewell.

Walking into her small apartment Olivia felt the silence scream at her from every angle. She felt like there was something missing and she knew exactly what it was; the sound of a child's laughter filling the air, the sound of tiny feet running down the hall to greet her when she came home. The sound of a proper family home was what was missing in her life.

With a heavy sigh she placed her brown purse on the kitchen table and made herself something quick to eat, trying her hardest not to remember that it was Friday night; the one night of the week that no matter what time she came home, she and Calvin would run out to get pizza at an all night pizza place, the only unhealthy food she allowed him to have during the week and watch TV together for at least an hour depending on what time she got home.

She honestly just wanted to make a quick turkey sandwich and go to bed, reminding herself that the fastest she went to bed the faster the pain would be over. There was nothing forcing her to order the greasy food that she honestly didn't find all that good compared to the other pizzas Manhattan had to offer.

But as she went to reach for the bread up in the cupboard her eyes flickered to the painting she prized above all else hanging proudly on her fridge she picked up the phone and sighed a bit annoyed at herself. Cursing herself silently she dialed the familiar number.

"Hi, I'd like to place an order for delivery," Olivia told the worker on the other end of the line. "Just a small pepperoni pizza, please…"

An hour later an exhausted Olivia shut the box and put the remaining pieces, she had only ate one piece and could hardly keep her eyes open while she ate that one, into the fridge deciding she would eat the left over's later on.

She shut off the TV she hadn't really been watching and slowly made her way to the bedroom, grabbing her pills off the counter on her way there.

After Olivia got dressed for bed she shuffled to the bathroom where she came to a stop at the mirror. As she stood there looking at herself a small tear escaped her. She promised herself she wouldn't let anyone see her weakness but it was becoming harder and harder every day,

Each day the walls she had built around herself over the years had slowly began to crumble. Her facade that she had mastered all these years was fading fast; no matter how hard she tried to pretend everything was okay it just wasn't working anymore and slowly they beginning to see through it.

Olivia's mind slipped back to work, her heart was still aching and her stomach had yet to unknot itself. Her thoughts momentarily drifted to the mutilated woman in the hotel room and she gagged but refused to become physically ill. Even in the comfort and privacy of her own apartment she wouldn't give whoever this sick freak was the satisfaction of knowing he had done something to heinous to one of his victims it made her literally sick.

She quickly opened up her pill bottles and rapidly popped two of her painkillers with a chaser of tap water.

Her breaths came out frantic and when she heard the cap fall into the sink she looked down and realized that her hand was shaking so bad she was jiggling the sink.

She took the hands off of the white metal and took a step back; gasping for air. She shook her head and ran her trembling hands through her hair and left the bathroom dreading the nightmares that were coming tonight to haunt her.

Olivia had just turned off the lamp besides her bed when the annoying ring of her cell phone sounded loudly from beside her. "No!" she groaned loudly. She reached over and answered the phone not even looking at the caller ID to see who had interrupted her few hours of sleep.

"What?" she grumbled bitterly.

Although Cragen's voice was apologetic it was also full of urgency that made the detective forgive his late night call. "Olivia, I'm so sorry to wake you but we got a break in the case."

She sat up in bed and switched on the lamp that moments ago she extinguished and tried her best to make it seem like she would rather be sleeping then working.

"What's going on?"

"Warner ran fingerprints of the older victim and got a match. Her names Amber Grant, reported missing 17 years ago."  
>"Who reported her missing?" asked Olivia as she got up from the bed and made her way over to her dresser<br>"Her Aunt who passed away 3 years ago but there's something else Warner discovered."

"What?"

"You know how no one's claimed victim number three as their own? Well we think we might know why."

There was a slight pause before Cragen finished his statement. "Amber Grant is victim number three's mother."

Olivia's jaw fell to the floor and she could barely hear Cragen over the thoughts that were rushing through her mind right now.

"I'll be right there," she told him before hanging up.

As she finished getting dressed her thoughts momentarily drifted back to the photos on the board. She had seen her fair share of degrading and horrid crimes yet she still couldn't believe that children were so young were being tortured like this and that a mother and daughter had shared the same fate.

With a shudder of disgust, Olivia readied herself to go back into work.

Please Review


	6. Chapter 6

I own nothing but my own people. Thanks to Bellatrix Wannabe 89 for betaing

"Nice of you to join us, Detective Benson," barked Cragen as Olivia walked into the precinct nearly twenty minutes after she was supposed to be there.

Olivia shot him a harsh glare but offered no words of argument. She had been half way to the precinct when she discovered she had left her pain medication on the kitchen counter so she had to turn round to pick it up. She had a feeling she was going to need it.

"What have we got?" asked Olivia sharply as she walked over to the front of the crowded white board.

Elliot looked between the two and swallowed hard. He could either face Cragen's power of suspension and punishment or Olivia's wrath. Between the two he would rather take suspension. He cleared his throat before he pointed to the newest picture on the white board and began to explain the newest evidence they had recovered.

"Jane Doe victim found five weeks ago in some bushes in Central Park, Warner estimated her age at around 10," said Elliot as he pointed towards the glossy crime scene photo of third victim they had discovered.

"No amber alert or missing persons was put out on her by anyone," added Olivia as she slowly continued leafing through the large pile of papers still to be added to the board.

"And her mother Amber Grant," sighed Cragen as he walked over to the board and pointed to the ten by thirteen picture of Amber, "has been missing for seventeen years and found dead in a hotel and her death was more brutal then all the others combined."

A dark tone filled Olivia's next words. "No wonder no one reported an amber alert on Jane Doe. The only one who could was missing herself."

Cragen stared at the board for a moment. His eyes were going back and forth from the picture of Amber to the picture of their young victim so fast that his eyes were a blur.

"We need to find out the father," muttered Cragen. "Check DNA from any Caucasian rapists who liked to brand his victims starting from twelve years back. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll be in the system."

"You already got lucky," Warner's voice announced from the doorway.

The trio turned towards their medical examiner, a smile graving her face with a manila folder in her hand.

"Pray tell, how?" asked Cragen as Warner walked over to the group.

"During the autopsy I found something interesting," she started as she pulled out a report and handed it to Elliot.

"Amber was admitted to hospital when she was 10 with a broken leg two years after she was abducted. Doctors had to put a metal pin in to hold it."

A grin grew on both Elliot and Olivia's faces. "You got the number from it didn't you?"

Warner nodded as she handed Olivia another medical report. "Hospital faxed over the results about ten minutes ago."

"Her captor took care of her," muttered Elliot. "Just like the other young victims."

"But it looks like they stopped taking care of them as she got older. She had a broken arm that wasn't treated," said Olivia as she scanned the first page of the autopsy report.

Elliot looked down at the report that Warner had given him. As he read it his eyes narrowed in confusion when he got to the spot where Amber's personal information should have been. "Look here; the name she used back then was Grace Chalmers. Different name, different hair color, eye color, different social security number… He didn't want the staff knowing she was a missing person."

"And by then she'd already been captive for nearly two years," said Olivia as she and Elliot turned away from paperwork and towards one another. "She was probably already suffering Stockholm syndrome, didn't give the hospital any indicators she was missing either…"

"Did she make any recent visits to hospitals?" asked Olivia eagerly as she looked at Warner with a sliver of hope in her eyes. Maybe someone remembered her face and they could give them some clue as to where to begin to piece this puzzle together.

"Not under either of those names but I'd be surprised if she didn't go back to the hospital at least four more times."

"Why would you say that?" asked Cragen as Warner furnished him his own stack of medical papers.

"Amber was pregnant at least four times when she was held captive."

The trio's mouth dropped open and their eyes widened in astonishment.

Olivia was the first to speak after several moments of stunned silence. "How the hell can you tell?"

"Three different C-section scars. Most doctors use the same incision for each delivery and then tuck it so it only looks like one scar but they didn't bother doing that here. I'd say due to the scar tissue, the first pregnancy was about ten years ago, the second eight years ago, and the third pregnancy was five years ago."

"Hang on you said she was pregnant four times," Olivia reminded her. "Why only three scars?"

"Because her last pregnancy ended in a miscarriage," said Warner dismally. "Based on the fact her uterus walls are so thin it couldn't have happened more than two weeks ago."

A sharp stab of pain crashed onto Olivia as she came to a realization about the case. She knew why, in her captors sick perverted mind, Amber had to be murdered.

Her voice was filled with iciness neither Elliot nor Cragen nor had Warner ever heard from her. "He didn't want to waste any more time on a woman who couldn't give him supplies."

Elliot and Cragen stared at her for a moment, watching as she slowly walked up to the board. "Think about it. What's the best way for a pedophile to get access to his victims without anyone knowing?"

"In house," answered Elliot, "but Liv, you don't think-."

"It makes perfect sense, El," Olivia interrupted as she looked over at the trio. "Some guy kidnapped her, used her for whatever the hell he wanted to do to her for as long as he could, she got pregnant, he took away her child and doesn't have to risk kidnapping another child to take her place."

"So why kill her?" asked Cragen. "Why not use her to make victims for until she hit menopause?"

"Look at the dates of her pregnancies." Olivia pointed to the various dates on the lab work. "She was fourteen when she had Jane Doe, then a year later she gets pregnant again, then there was a three year gap between the second and third pregnancy, and then five years later she gets pregnant and has a miscarriage. He was afraid she couldn't get pregnant anymore or that she'd keep losing the baby so he killed her."

"But why go to such extremes with her though? He tortured her."

Olivia looked back over at the board and tears slowly filled her eyes. She wrapped her arm around her flat stomach that she used to pray and hope would hold a life one day. "To teach her a lesson"

Not even attempting to hide her tears she turned back to her colleagues. "She couldn't get pregnant, so he… he didn't see her as a real woman. That's why he cut off her breasts and why he mutilated her down there. A woman who can't get pregnant isn't a real woman and doesn't need anything relating to reproduction."

While Cragen and Warner looked revolted at the horrifying aspect at Olivia's words, Elliot was more taken aback at the tears in his partners eyes.

"Christ almighty," muttered Cragen as he shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright search for any MO's where the guy is hitting infertile females where children are involved. He also likes to brand his victims so add that in."

"Sure thing, Captain," said Elliot with a nod but he had yet to turn away from a still teary eyed Olivia.

Cragen gave them each a curt nod before he walked away from the crime scene board and into his office.

"I gotta be getting back," Warner told them after Cragen had shut his door behind him. "I'll let you know if I find anything else on your victims."

With as much as a grimace as she could manage she walked away from the duo.

Elliot slowly walked over to her and she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes as he did. He appeared to be looking at the board but his eyes was fixed on Olivia. "You alright?" he asked just soft enough for her to hear him.

"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Olivia harsher then she had indented.

"You just seem to be taking this a little bit personal."

"Elliot, stop," sighed Olivia as she struggled to remain calm. "Just drop it, alright? I didn't wanna talk to you about it yesterday when I was awake I don't wanna talk to you about it now when I'm half asleep."

The two partners looked at one another before Elliot nodded. "Alright, I'll leave it alone. Why don't you go catch a few hours in the crib and I'll wake you if I get anything."

"I'll be fine," Olivia assured him but she couldn't help but release a yawn as she spoke.

"You look like shit, Liv. Go get some sleep."

"Oh, Elliot, where do you come up with such romantic compliments? And I told you before I'll be fine."

"And I told you before to rest for a few hours."

The more he spoke the more Olivia felt her eye lids becoming heavier and heavier and she found it more challenging to come up with a reason as to why she couldn't go catch a few hours of sleep in the crib.

"Will one hour be enough to get you off my back?"

"Three might."

"Two."

"Deal."

Elliot reached out and grasped her hand and gave it a curt shake before he turned towards his desk and turned on his computer. Not wasting another word Olivia headed away from the bullpen and towards the crib. As she shut the door to hold out the artificial lights in the bull pen the sound too were muffled and a soothing silence surrounded the dark room full of empty cots. She headed over towards the first empty bed and rested her head down on the soft pillow and covered herself up with the scratchy blanket.

Before she shut her eyes however thoughts of Sofia came rushing back to her and her bottom lip began to tremble due to the memories and the pain that was just beginning to sneak past the pain meds.

A sigh escaped her as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone and dialed a familiar number.

She only had to wait one ring before the voice picked up tired and full of sleep. "What?" muttered Fin sleepily.

"Hey, Fin, it's Olivia. Look I need a favor…"

…

"So tell me why exactly we're on our way to this woman's house at three thirty in the morning?" asked Munch struggling to keep his eyes open.

Fin shrugged as he drove the route that his GPS had given him. "It's a favor to Liv. She just wanted us to check in on them."

"Yeah I got that from the 'Hey, Munch, I'm picking you up in an hour because Liv wants to check in on Sofia and Carla'. The why is the more important aspect though as the why tells me why I'm awake at this ungodly hour and why she's not?"

"You know just as well as me that if Cragen hadn't of kicked her off the case she'd be in this car instead of you. Look she cares about the girl, Munch, and after all she's been through with Calvin can you really blame her?"

"Yes. Yes I can. Anyway we both know the real reason why you agreed to this lunacy."

"Which would be?"

"You like Carla. It's okay though she likes you back."

Fin scoffed as he turned to him in disbelief before looking back towards the abandoned road. "I've known her for two minutes!"

Munch looked over his glasses at his partner. "The love machine knows all, my friend, and I know that you like her."

"Your bony ass is as dumb as that nickname."

"I have been called that by many a fine young woman."

"The reason being is they all wanted a machine instead of you after you tried to make love to them."

"You know men who insult other men's lovemaking abilities is usually compensating for something."

Fin rolled his eyes as he pulled up to the address that Carla had given them happy to put an end to the bickering between him and his partner. Fin turned to Munch who was looking smug over having won their latest back and forth.

"Look just don't say anything dumb, alright?"

Munch scoffed and looked fully insulted. "When do I ever say anything dumb?"

Fin just stared and shook his head before he and Munch left the car and headed into the building.

The lobby looked luxurious and regal with high white marble arches that seemed to reach the heavens.

A soft beige carpet covered the floor in it's entirely with not a spot to be spoken of dirtying it in any sort of aspect. A grand majestic staircase off the right of the room with gold trim on the white marble steps stood proudly next to the silver painted elevators. A white marble fountain was the centerpiece of the room with clear blue streams of cascading over the top of it bubbling softly as it trickled down it's many tiers. Apart from the two detectives the bottom floor was empty and both Munch and Fin took several moments to examine to impressive apartment building.

Fin shook his head as his eyes fell on the fountain "What the hell is someone living here doing with scum like Samuel?"

"Maybe she realized that falling for the guy from the wrong side of the tracks is only romantic in the movies," suggested Munch with a careless shrug.

The two took another half a moment to marvel at the architecture before they headed over to the elevators and pushed the 'up' button.

With a tiny ding the two doors opened to a large luxurious elevator with cushion covered benches on three sides. They walked in and Munch pressed the '5th' floor button and they rode in silence with only the soft sound of the orchestral elevator music to give them company.

As they reached the correct floor the doors opened once more and they stepped out into what they assumed was going to be a hallway.

"Damn it," Fin muttered as he and Munch stepped off not into a hallway but straight into Carla's apartment.

Munch reached over and flipped on the light switch and a warm light basked over them and their surroundings; an apartment that was just as, if not more so, beautiful and lavish then the lobby. Dark bronze polished hardwood planks made up most of the dining room beautifully offset by the thick white carpet in the living room upon which brilliantly white matching furniture was strategically placed around a flat screen TV that took up half of the wall while a comforting black metal fireplace sat beneath it.

Different dark wooden end tables stood tall and proud next to various pieces furniture with beautifully crafted lamps and delicate small knickknacks that cost more than both of the veteran's monthly salaries decorated the tops of each. Several shut doors led to different sections of the apartment that they knew would lead to other grand rooms.

Fin and Munch gazed around the room before they saw another light click on down the hall.

They caught one another's eyes before they turned back to the room; astounded at what was pointed at them though the doorway. A small handgun.

Both partners drew their weapons and pointed it at the bedroom door.

"Who's out there!" they heard Carla shout followed by the sound of the gun cocking.

"Carla, its Detective Tutuola and Sergeant Munch! Is everything alright!" shouted Fin as he held his gun at the entrance of the hallway.

There was a brief moment of silence before the gun was pulled back into the room and they heard the familiar clatter of a gun being thrown to the floor before Carla stepped out of the doorway her eyes wide and panicky.

"What happened?" asked Carla as she approached the detectives dawning nothing more than a white tank top and a pair of black shorts that showed off her long lean legs. While they lowered their weapons they didn't holster them.

"Nothing, we just wanted to check in on you and Sofia," answered Fin as he looked around her shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"At three thirty in the morning? No cop comes here that early unless there is something wrong."

"I know it's hard to believe but we really did just want to check on you. Now are you okay?" asked Fin as he nodded towards the bedroom, hoping that if something was truly wrong and she couldn't speak out loud she would let him know.

"Yes, I promise you everything is fine. Go see for yourself if you want," said Carla as she motioned to the bedroom.

Munch and Fin looked at one another before turning back to Carla who still looked baffled at their presence.

"Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yes. I promise you everything is okay, Detectives," she assured them as she pushed her long strands of hair away from her face and tucked it securely behind her ear.

Fin and Munch gasped at the large bruise on the side of her face. "Jesus, Carla, what happened?" asked Fin as he took a step closer to further examine it.

Carla's bottom lip began to tremble as she fanned her hair so that she could hide the bruise once more.

"Samuel came here last night. He wanted to see Sofia and I wouldn't let him." She let out a sob mixed with a humorless chuckle. "Controlling his anger has never been one of his strong suits.

"You should have called me, Carla. He had no right to be here!" barked Fin.

She wiped at the tears that appeared in her dark brown eyes as she looked up at him. "I know I should have but I just want him to go away and leave us alone. I knew calling the cops would do nothing more than make him angry." She cast her gaze to the floor and ran a trembling hand through her locks. "Cops don't care about me or my mija."

"I do care," assured Fin softly ignoring Munch's look that clearly screamed 'I told you so'. "Okay I would have arrested his punk ass on the spot and kicked his ass on the way to the car for even thinking about hurting you."

Carla lifted her gaze to meet's Fin and for the first time since the detectives had met the woman a soft smile graced her beautiful features.

But before either could open their mouths a small meek voice came from the hallway. "What's going on?"

They three adults looked round and seen Sofia standing at the entrance of the hallway wearing an expensive looking nightgown. Her face was frozen in terror at the sight of the two men.

Her voice was shaking and frightened and her body was trembling. "Has he come back?"

Carla rushed over to her daughter before scooping the young girl in her arms. She ran her hand over her dark curly hair as Carla buried her head into Sofia's neck. Sofia tightened her grip around her mother's neck

"No, he hasn't come back, sweetie," Fin assured her.

Sophia relaxed slightly at the sound of his voice. She remembered it from being with Olivia at the precinct.

"He's never going to hurt us again, Mija," whispered Carla as she kissed the top of her head, her silent tears rolling down her soft cheek and onto Sofia's hair.

Munch cleared his throat and Carla tore her eyes away from Sofia over to him. "Ma'am, if you want my partner Detective Tutuola would be more than happy to spend the night on your couch to make sure he doesn't come back."

"OR we can sit in the car across the street and do the same thing and catch him before he even gets into the building," added Fin with an irritated glare at Munch. "After all since you and your daughters are victims of crime it would be much more appropriate."

Carla gaped wide eyed at the two detectives before she cleared her own throat. "I… it's up to you, Detective Tutuola; whichever one you prefer."

"Call him Fin," said Munch with a clap on his partners shoulder.

Fin struggled to keep the hot blush from rising in his cheeks. "I… I think it would be better if I stayed out in the car. Like I said if Samuel does come back me and my partner will be able to catch him before he gets to the apartment that way you and Sofia are out of harm's way incase anything goes down."

"Of course," said Carla with another timid smile.

Both Fin and Carla looked at one another for a moment before Carla stood up with Sofia in her arms.

"I'm gotta get her back to bed."

"Can I sleep with you, mama?" Sofia muttered against her mother's shoulder.

"Of course," whispered Carla as she kissed the top of her head once more.

She turned towards Fin once more and with her eyes lighting up a miniscule fraction then what they had been she walked back down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms.

"Ah young love," sighed Munch softly with a rare smile that quickly vanished when Fin sucker punched him in the stomach.

Munch doubled over in pain and glared up at an infuriated Fin. "What was that for?"

"You know what!" hissed Fin with a sharp glare towards his partner before he stormed over to the elevator.

"What? What'd I do? Come on, Fin, what'd I do?"

… 

That night in Manhattan as the night sky was high the rippling light casting long shadows across the water. No boats disturb the tranquility of the steel gray waters lapping at the shore. Olivia Benson lay on her side on the soft bed sleeping soundly; two hours after Elliot had promised to wake her up.

Sunlight slowly began filter into the crib and illuminated her sleeping form. Elliot quietly walked up the stairs and saw her looking peaceful for the first time in a long time. He hated the thought of waking her up but slowly he walked over and gently rubbed her shoulder. She began to stir slightly and Elliot whispered her name and she opened her eyes to meet his blue ones.

"We have a problem downstairs," he told her.

"What time is it?" she muttered softly.

"It's almost seven."

She shot up out of bed and stared wide eyed at him. "You said you'd wake me up after two hours of sleep, it's been four!"

"I lied. Come on there's something downstairs you need to see."

Grumbling angrily at her partner Olivia threw off the blanket and stood up from the bed that she had been resting in and followed her partner downstairs.

"Did you find any MO's that matched?" asked Olivia as they headed down the steps to the still empty precinct. The bulk of the staff wouldn't be in until at least nine a clock.

"Not yet but I didn't think we would."

"Do we have a new victim?"

"Thankfully no."

"So then what's the big emergency?"

"See for yourself," answered Elliot as he opened the door to Cragen's office and motioned her inside

The pair walked down into Cragen's office and Olivia gasped at the sight that met her.

Cragen was looking apologetically at her from behind his desk and in the corner of the small office stood the one person who could, and had, blown Olivia's world apart on several occasions.

Agent Dean Porter had returned to SVU.

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	7. Chapter 7

We own no one but our on people. Proudly co-written by Bellatrix Wannabe 89

"You have got to be kidding me," Olivia snarled as she looked from Dean from Cragen. "Captain what's he doing here?"

"He came down here to help with the investigation," Cragen began.

"Take over more like it," muttered Elliot darkly.

Dean walked over to them his head held high ignoring Olivia's heated gaze.

"Detective Stabler," said Dean as he offered his hand to the detective; a subtle white flag in hopes of cooperation.

Elliot looked at the offending hand as if it were a poisonous snake about to strike. "Don't Detective Stabler me! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Stabler, knock it off!" barked Cragen before the two men came to blows.

Elliot took a step back and moved closer to Olivia, he ran his hand over his face

"He is going to take this investigation from us!" he shouted pointing right at Dean.

"Agent Porter," said Cragen with an air of caution as if to remind them both that they were dealing with someone who outranked them all, "has come to help us in about the Johnston investigation."

Olivia and Elliot exchanged looks of slight panic. They knew anything involving Dean Porter couldn't be good.

"He has information on the case that you may find interesting," finished Cragen with a nod towards the smug agent.

Elliot scoffed in disbelief that anything Dean Porter knew could be interesting. "What information could he have that we don't?"

"There is a lot more victims than our six here," Cragen told them quietly. "The killings have been going on for at least 25 years."

"We saw you were looking for information and I was told to get the first plane out here," added Porter.

"So we find more victims and more information and you think that gives you the right to walk in here and take all the credit if anything comes from it?" demanded Olivia.

"What we have on this case wouldn't even begin to come close to what you have," Dean shot back as his eyes narrowed slightly. "Or have you forgotten that the FBI ALWAYS outranks even the almighty NYPD?"

Cragen saw both of his detectives hands ball into shaking fists at the way he was treating Olivia and he felt his own anger boil inside him at how he was talking to one of his best detectives. The CO cleared his throat and nodded towards Dean. "Agent Porter, would you mind giving me a moment alone with my detectives?" Cragen asked pointing out the door.

"Sure," muttered Dean as he glared at Olivia who fired back her own look of intense hate at the agent. "I'll be right outside."

Dean was the first to look away from the lock he had with Olivia and walked out the door and all but slammed the door shut behind him.

The moment they heard the door latch both detectives words were mixed into a loud jumble of insults and pleas that Cragen could barely understand.

"I'm not working with him!"

"That rat bastard is going to steal the case!"

"It's too personal!"

"He's a prick!"

Cragen was forced to shout over the partners and he had to strain to be heard over their incessant uproar.

"I don't like it anymore then you do but we have orders to cooperate with him!" yelled Cragen as he handed Elliot a piece of paper stating that in fact FBI where now in charge.

Olivia and Elliot gave the official federal judge signed paper a once over before Elliot threw it back on Cragen's desk disgusted.

"This is crap! We can't just hand it over!" shouted Elliot.

"We aren't handing it over we're joining with them," stated Cragen as calm as he could manage.

"Like that'll work! He won't tell us anything!" barked Olivia

"Look as much as you two hate him you both know that the FBI has more resources then we could ever hope. He may be a prick but he's a prick that has connections and can help get justice for all the victims and help save a lot more little girls." Cragen turned to Olivia who still looked less than thrilled to be working with him but it was obvious that Cragen's words had an effect on her. "And if it gets too personal then just suck it up, be the bigger person, and drive on."

Olivia nodded at his words. "I'll work with him."

"Good. Elliot… Will you do the same?"

Elliot cleared his throat and rolled his sleeves up revealing his toned muscles and crossed his arms in front of his broad chest. "What'll happen if I don't?"

"I'm not giving you the option not to detective," Cragen said harshly. "Either work with him or you're off the case."

A tension thicker then what any of them were comfortable with filled the room and Elliot uncrossed his arms and stood at ease. "Fine, Sir, I'll work with him as well."

"Good now go get caught up on the case."

"Yes, Sir," both detectives muttered before they left the small confines of his office shutting the door behind them.

"Get your feet off my desk!" Elliot snapped at the dark haired agent who was sitting in the confines of Elliot's chair with his 900 dollar Italian leather shoes resting on top of Elliot's desk.

Dean raised a brow in mock confusion before Elliot went over and slapped his feet off the top of his desk making him nearly stumble out of the chair. Dean quickly rose from the chair and the two men squared off, both aching to throw a punch at the other ones face.

As fast as she could Olivia forced herself in between the two men and the familiar posh cologne that Dean always wore filled up her senses and engulfed her in hot steamy memories of the two of them in bed.

And, as much as Olivia would rather die than admit this to anyone including herself, Dean was one the most amazing lovers she ever had. He knew exactly what to do and say to turn her on and his hands and lips worked like magic touching and kissing her just the way she liked it.

As she stood there with her hands on his well built chest that was now pressing up against her in an attempt to get closer to Elliot and looked up at his dark brown almost black eyes filled with the fiery intensity that she couldn't help but love after he hurt her more than any other man had, she licked her suddenly dry lips and shifted her legs as to ease some of the discomfort between her legs

Dean looked down at her and his face contorted into a smirk and a blush rose to the surface of her skin. He knew exactly what he did to her and there was not a doubt in her mind that if he really wanted to he could have her literally begging on her knees for him in a matter of minutes.

But she knew that as much as he still turned her on, and vice versa, they both know she would never forgive him for what he had said to her when they were still dating.

They had been together for nearly five months when Dean showed up at her apartment so drunk he could barely remember his own name. He started to kiss and grope her and Olivia pushed him away several times not in the mood to have sex with someone who smelled like a bottle of whiskey. She could tell he was getting angrier each time she said no to his drunken advances and she hoped he wouldn't try to hit her. But when he shouted the cruelest thing he could have thought of, she deiced that him hitting her would have hurt a thousand times less.

"Maybe I'll become a corrections officer since you like getting on your knees for them!"

Olivia punched him as hard as she could and left her own apartment to stay with Elliot and Kathy for the night. She broke up with him the next day.

The memory of that cruel night replayed in her mind and any want she had for him that moment disappeared with a heavy splash.

Olivia cleared her throat as she forced the two men apart looking up at Elliot. "I don't like what we have to work with either but unless you want Cragen to come out and suspend both of us we need to work with him!"

Elliot glared at Dean but never the less took a step back from his nemesis with Dean doing the same although both men refused to drop their heated gazes. Olivia took a deep breath before she turned back to Dean, not leaving her place in front of Elliot incase either men made a move to attack one another again.

"What do you got to tell us?" Olivia questioned.

Dean never took his eyes from Elliot as he reached over on Elliot's desk and grabbed three files handing Olivia and Elliot one each. Olivia opened the file and all the pictures were the same as the five girls that had come across their desk. As she looked at the young girls, all under 10 with angelic faces, she thought about what horrors they must have seen and been through at such a young age.

"As I said," began Dean breaking Olivia out of her thoughts, "the killings started 25 years ago. We couldn't enter them into any computer system until about a year ago and even then we were limited what we could share without outside sources."

"Why so long?" Olivia asked sharply.

"Too many corrupt officers in the NYPD and we didn't want to chance them getting their hands on it," said Dean as if it were a well rehearsed line in a play and both Olivia and Elliot knew it was.

"Yeah because the FBI is always squeaky clean when it comes to corruption!" barked Elliot. "What's the real reason, Porter?"

Dean licked his lips and shrugged. "We didn't want anyone screwing up what the FBI was trying to build."

Both detectives' eyes widened and Olivia's mouth fell open in astonishment

"If you made more available you might have got the sick freak behind bars already!" Elliot growled.

Dean closed the front cover of his file then looked up at Elliot.

"Look the reason I have been sent here is because you two have been asking too many questions and someone might find out and everything we have built up would have been for nothing!"

This time it was Elliot's turn to hold back Olivia. "Nothing? Nothing! Are you serious!" Olivia shouted at him as she struggled against Elliot's iron clad hold. "All these children are dead and you call that nothing! If you weren't so worried about the damn glory they could have been saved"

She wrenched out of Elliot's grasp and stormed up to the board and pulled down the pictures that covered it and put them in front of him.

"The youngest was 6 years old, Dean! How the hell you can you say she means nothing!" She pointed to their newest victim only vaguely aware that the rest of the precinct had stopped what they were doing to look over at the irate woman at the board. "This girl; her name is Amber. She was forced to have three children only to have them snatched away the second they were born! Is she nothing?

She was tortured and raped for years and she died alone in a hotel room and we could have helped her if you weren't worried about your case being blown for 'nothing'! "

"Calm your ass down NOW!" Dean snarled as he started to go over to her but Elliot grabbed his shoulder and twisted him around. Dean would never admit it but Elliot's look frightened him.

"Don't you ever," he growled lowly, "talk to her like that again."

Dean jerked away from Elliot and turned towards a heavily breathing Olivia whose eyes were alit with flames of rage.

"What about her children who are probably being raped and tortured as we speak? Are they nothing too, Dean?"

He narrowed his dark brown eyes at her before he stormed over to her and got an inch away from her but she refused to back down.

His voice was low but Elliot could still hear the agent's words that he spoke to his partner. "They're probably better off with whoever they're with now then if they had you as a mother."

Olivia felt her heart break at his cold cruel words. She stood her ground though, staying strong she bit her lip and her eyes began to sting with un-cried tears that were building up.

"You unbelievable bastard." Her voice just above a whisper and breaking with tears that began to fall.

Elliot narrowed his eyes in both hatred and confusion. He knew it was a cruel thing to say but he also knew that Olivia had been insulted a lot more horrifically before by different perps and never once had they made her shed a tear. He knew Dean had said vindictive things to her before but he had never seen her cry over his words before.

In fact, Elliot thought miserably, the _only_ time he had ever seen her cry in public was the night that Vivian and the ACS worker came and literally ripped Calvin from her arms.

Elliot was about to go over to the pair when they heard Cragen clear his throat and the trio looked over at the Captain who was looking at Dean with nothing but bitter hate.

"I can see you all need a break," he spat as he narrowed his eyes at Dean. He too had never seen Olivia cry besides that fateful night. "I want you to go home and rest. Come back tomorrow when tensions aren't so high."

Without a word to anyone Olivia almost ran over to her desk and grabbed her purse and coat and nearly sprinted out the door.

"Olivia, wait!" Elliot cried out as he raced after her.

"Leave me alone, Elliot," she demanded in a voice that threatened to spill more tears.

"Not until you tell me what's going on with you!"

She ignored him and Elliot ran up to her and grabbed her wrist and twisted her around so she faced him. She threw a punch with her free hand but Elliot grabbed that wrist as well.

"Let me go!" Olivia shouted as she struggled to get out of his grasp while trying her best not to fall down the steps.

"You're the one that tried to hit me. Tell me what's wrong with you and I will!" Elliot yelled back, struggling not to fall down the stairs as well.

"Let go of me or I swear to god I will sue you for sexual harassment!"

"You forgot that threat doesn't work on me," Elliot reminded her, "I know you would never use that unless you were really harassed."

"Fine," she growled darkly. "Let me go or I'll kick you in between your legs so hard you won't be able to walk for a week! How's that for a threat that I HAVE made good on before!"

Elliot swallowed hard before he reluctantly let go of her wrists, steadying her as her foot slipped.

Olivia stared up at Elliot, both of their breathing heavy and her eyes were glossed over with tears. "Tell me what's wrong," he whispered softly.

"I can't."

"Yes you can. Whatever it is I'll understand. You're my best friend, Olivia, you can tell me anything."

"Not this." Her voice cracked as tears made their way down her face. "Now please, for the last time, leave me alone."

Tearing her eyes away from Elliot's she headed down the stairs and out of the building.

Hours later Olivia sat alone in a little hole in the wall bar a block away from her apartment slowly sipping on her third beer. She wanted to get as drunk as humanly possible, forget what Dean had said to her, forget that the faces of the young girls she could have helped if the FBI had shared information, forget everything in her screwed up miserable life.

But she couldn't. She couldn't because getting drunk when she was upset always frightened her. Her mother drank to wipe away the pain of her rape and of having to deal with having to raise her rapist's child all on her own. Olivia knew the alcohol would ease her pain but she also knew that the prospect of getting drunk every night to escape her demons would prove much too tempting.

So instead she would slowly nurse her beer just enough so she would be able to sleep a dreamless sleep where the faces of the young girls wouldn't haunt her, Dean's words wouldn't scream at her, and she wouldn't have to hear Calvin's voice crying out for her to save her and she could do nothing for the boy she loved more than life.

Olivia sighed as she took another swallow of the drink as she watched the football game on the flat screen TV hoisted high above the bar. She wasn't paying attention to it but it gave her something to do so that she didn't look as pathetic to the others around her.

She heard the door open and shut but she didn't pay any attention to the person who had just entered the bar and she continued to pretend to watch the game.

The newcomer took a seat beside her and Liv rolled her eyes but didn't turn to the person. The bar was half empty and they could have chosen any seat in the bar. Why did this person have to sit right next to her?

"Who's your team?" a familiar voice spoke and Olivia jumped slightly before turning in her chair to look at the source of the recognizable voice.

With his nine hundred dollar suit and short neatly styled hair and small silver rim glasses Trevor looked truly out of place in the small hole in the wall. He had a soft smile on his clean shaven face but she wasn't amused. "Are you stalking me or something?" asked Olivia a bit shortly as her eyes fell on Trevor.

His smile faded and he cleared his throat and took off his silver glasses and tucked them into his coat pocket. "One of my clients lives around the corner. White collar crime guy, only targets businesses, don't worry," he assured her as he watched her eyes widened. "And I thought I'd get a drink before I headed on home."

Olivia relaxed some at Trevor's explanation and he nodded towards the TV. "So who's winning?"

"Honestly I don't really know," she admitted. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"Gotcha. Just looking for something to do so you didn't look as alone?"

"Nice word exchange for pathetic," said Olivia with a humorless chuckle as she took a swig of her drink.

Trevor's eyes narrowed in confusion. "I would never think of you as pathetic."

"Yes because being a single woman in her forties with no family sitting at a crappy bar all alone at night is something to aspire to right?"

"Being someone who puts her life on the line every day to protect innocent people from the scum of the earth is. As for not having a family who says that has to define who you are? You're an amazing woman even without one."

A blush rose to her cheeks that she struggled to hide. She cleared her throat and looked down at the long faded wood bar for a moment before she turned back to him and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you. Believe it or not that's exactly what I needed to hear."

"You're very welcome," he said with his own smile. "So, Detective, what are you doing here all alone?"

"I think we've moved past 'detective', Trevor," Olivia said with a soft laugh.

Trevor chuckled and nodded. "Olivia it is then. So, Olivia, same question. What are you doing here drowning your sorrows in a." He looked up at the prices before he looked back at her. "Two dollar beer?"

Olivia withheld a groan at his question. She had gotten enough prying from Elliot; she didn't need it from Trevor as well. "It's a long story," said Olivia dryly before she took another drink of her beer.

"I feel ya. Not really a first date kind of story. So who do you like in the super bowl?"

Olivia raised her brow at his answer and felt a tug on the corner of her lips as she looked at him and she could tell he was hoping she had caught his statement. "Who said this was a date?"

Trevor appeared to be considering his words before he nodded in agreement. "You're right. This would make a horrible first date. I mean you had to pay for your own drinks and that's like a 30th date action. Let me make it up to you by, say, taking you out to dinner on Friday?"

Olivia struggled to hide the shock in her features as well as her voice. "Did… did you just ask me out?"

"Well technically we're already 'out'. I'm asking you if I can take you out to someplace better at a later date in time."

Olivia laughed at his explanation and flashed him a grin with a kiss of flirtation in its edges. "Sure. I'd like that."

Olivia could see him struggle not to beam at her answer. Instead Trevor cleared his throat and smiled at her. "Terrific. I'll pick you up at your apartment around seven on Monday?"

She nodded and grinned at him once again. "I can't wait."

Trevor looked at his watch before he looked back up at her. "You know it's only ten. I'm sure there's someplace still open if you wanna get a bite to eat."

"I actually gotta get going," she said with a sincere apologetically tone. "I have a long day tomorrow with someone I'm not all that fond with and I figured that being both tired and annoyed wouldn't be pleasant for anyone. Me just being annoyed that'll work out bad for that one guy."

"I like how you think," Trevor said with a short laugh.

The attorney and detective grinned at one another before Olivia finished off her beer and stood up as did Trevor. He cleared his throat and he smiled at her with the same small degree of flirtation that she had given him. "Do you need a ride home?"

"I would say that's a first date action."

Trevor reached in his wallet and pulled out a twenty and laid it on the bar. "I paid for your drinks, there for this is technically a first date."

Olivia laughed at his declaration before she smiled at the tall man in front of her. "I'll see you Monday, Trevor."

He nodded in understanding and stepped away so she could walk past him. "It can't come soon enough."

Once again a soft blush rose to her cheeks as she began to walk in the space he had made for her, his hand grazing hers as she walked past him.

For the first time in days she left for her apartment with a smile.

…

The next day Olivia was the first to arrive in the precinct. She put her coat on the peg and took her seat, picking up the file that lay at the top of a very large pile.

Even with Trevor asking her out last night the moment her eyes landed on the crime scene photos of the young girls any happiness he had given her melted away. God she hoped that whatever Dean had to say would help them catch this bastard.

Even though the pain was nearly faded Olivia reached in her purse and this time only took one of her pain pills, grateful that this cycle was almost over and she would have three beautiful pain free weeks.

She put the pills back in her purse just as Elliot arrived. Olivia looked even more closely at the photos in a desperate attempt to ignore her partner. He walked past her, pausing only for a brief moment at her desk before he sat down in his own respective desk.

A tense silence surrounded them as Elliot pulled out the file he found most helpful and began leafing through it not looking at anything in particular but it helped to look at something when you were desperately trying to ignore looking at something else.

After minutes of the uncomfortable silence Elliot sighed and threw down the file, some of the photos spilling onto Olivia's side. She didn't look up from her own folder.

"This isn't working," muttered Elliot as he rubbed his face with his hands.

"What isn't?" Olivia asked, knowing full well what he was referring to.

"You and me not talking, you not telling me what's going on with you, me having to literally hold onto you in hopes you will tell me…"

Olivia sighed as she closed the file and looked up at her desk over him. "Elliot-,"

Cragen stepped out from his office and interrupted the detective. "Benson, Stabler, I need you two in here."

Olivia, relieved at the fact that she was let off the hook of Elliot's constant questioning for at least for a few minutes, stood up and quickly made her way into his office.

Elliot, annoyed for the same reason, got up much slower and followed her into Cragen's personal area shutting the door behind him.

Both were thankful that the surprise that was there for them yesterday was nowhere to be found today.

"Porter asked me to tell you two something," Cragen announced, "figured it would be safer for him if it came from me."

"What is it?" asked Olivia.

"The FBI has put together an undercover operation regarding the Johnston case and Porter requested that you two are the leads on it."

"Why us?" inquired Olivia who tried not to seem disappointed in the fact that her diner with Trevor would have to be cancelled. "Why not someone in the FBI?"

"Turns out what you said yesterday got to him. Porter and the FBI know they can trust you since you worked for them before and you're already involved in the case."

"And Elliot?"

"They need a married couple."

The two detectives nodded in understanding as Cragen handed them each brown folders thick with the information they would need with a huge red 'confidential' stamped onto the front.

"What's our cover?" Olivia asked as they both opened their files.

"Olivia, you're a loving housewife named Baillie Tearny who doesn't know that your physically, mentally, and emotionally abusive husband Craig Tearny, Elliot, is involved in anything illegal."

"Oh this is gonna be fun," muttered Olivia darkly. Elliot reached over and gently rubbed her shoulders before he turned back to Cragen. "Elliot, you're a high end real estate agent who has been known to make a few shady deals and is willing to take money from anyone no matter where it comes from." Cragen swallowed hard before he continued. "You're also willing to sell his wife and… children for any price."

Both of them looked up from their folders with their eyes wide.

"Captain, the kids," Olivia stuttered. "We can't put minors in danger!"

"They won't be. Not as long as they stay by one of you at all times. Your target is a pediatrician that the FBI thinks is one of the lead guys in the operation, you won't be able to get at him without having children."

"Is he the head guy?"

"No. No one knows who that is and they're hoping that if 'Craig' is willing to sell his wife and children to this guy, the head guy will wanna talk to him. We find out who that is mad we can take the whole operation down."

"Okay but, Capt, there's another hurdle we gotta get over much less training two kids with no police experience in undercover work. Who the hell is gonna give up their kid for this?" asked Elliot with a small scoff.

Cragen looked at him for a moment and Elliot's eyes widened, knowing what he was asking. "No! No way in hell!"

"Elliot, you said it yourself no other parent would let their children volunteer for this?"

"My children are not going to be a part of this," snarled Elliot.

"Elliot, we don't know what they're looking for," explained Cragen. "We need a boy and a girl, Dickie and Lizzie are ten years old, it works out perfectly. Not to mention your kids know how important undercover work is to your job."

"Lizzie is away at camp for the summer she isn't not gonna do it anyway; all I would have is Dickie. And what if something happened? What if... what if he got hurt? If one of those bastards got a hold of him, I couldn't…"

Olivia looked down at the ground as she heard her usually strong partner's voice break a tiny minute amount as he spoke just about the prospect of his son getting hurt.

Cragen tactfully ignored the tears that had built in Elliot's eyes. "You and Olivia will be right by Dickie and whoever we get to be the girl every moment of the day. Nothing will happen to him, I promise."

"You don't know that!"

"Yes I do. Elliot," said Cragen softly. "This goes deeper than any of us thought. Their other undercover agent said there are at least a hundred victims all under the age of fifteen, not to mention at least thirty women and girls being forced to make new victims who probably never even have the chance to hold their children before their snatched away. What if one of those victims was your children? Or what if Kathy or Olivia was forced to get pregnant just to create more victims? Wouldn't you do anything to save them?"

"They are not the victims!" Elliot shouted but Cragen could sense his stubbornness break down.

"Dickie won't be hurt. They won't get anywhere near the other criminals, only the doctor. The night of the pickup we'll have a car come get them before the perp even leaves his office."

Elliot bowed his head and Olivia finally looked over and for a brief moment she could have sworn he was praying. "I need to talk to Kathy and Dickie first. If either of them say no then you need to find someone else," he muttered with an air of shame.

"Of course," said Cragen with a sympathetic nod.

Without another word Elliot grabbed his folder and left the room.

"There has to be another way," said Olivia softly. "He's gonna blow this if the perp gets too close to Dickie."

"We just gotta hope that he's going to keep a cool head for the first time in his life when it comes to his kids. Now the bigger problem; we gotta find a girl."

"Olivia!"

Cragen jerked his head towards the doorway and Olivia wrenched around in her seat and with a gasp saw Sofia standing in the doorway.

Sofia sprinted into the room and all but jumped into Olivia's lap with so much force it made the detective drop the folder in her arms.

The young girl wrapped her arms tight around her neck and Olivia couldn't help but beam when she hugged her back.

"I missed you so much," Sofia muttered as she buried herself in her shoulder.

"Hey, sweetie," greeted Olivia. "How you doing?"

There was a noticeable length of silence before Sofia answered with a very forced "good."

Not releasing the detective from her grasp Sofia turned towards Cragen who was trying his best not to appear agitated at the intrusion of the girl he ordered Olivia to stay away from.

"I wanna help," Sofia told him with an air of confidence.

"Help with what?" asked Cragen, struggling to sound kind and nurturing to the small girl in his office.

"I heard you need a little girl and I wanna help catch the bad doctor."

Olivia closed her eyes and groaned as Cragen's eyes widened in astonishment. "Sofia, how long have you been listening?"

Sofia bowed her head in shame and her bottom lip trembled. "A while. Am I in trouble?"

Olivia looked up at Cragen and silently pleaded with him not to scold the young girl in her arms. Cragen sighed and forced a smile on his lips. "No, Sofia, you're not in trouble. But… maybe there's a way you can help Detective Benson."

Olivia knew at once what he was talking about and she shook her head almost violently. "Captain, no!"

"Do you like to play pretend?"

"Captain!"

"Sofia!"

All three turned towards the door once again and saw Carla, looking frantic with tears in her eyes, sprinting up to the office with Fin by her side.

"Don't you ever run away from me like that again!" Carla scolded as she ran into the office.

Tears welled in Sofia's eyes and she bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Mommy. I just wanted to find Olivia."

Carla sighed as Olivia, somewhat reluctantly, released her hold from around the young girl as Carla scooped Sofia in her arms and hugged her tightly. "I know, Mija. And I'm sorry I yelled but Mommy just got scared."

Carla gave a timid albeit tear filled smile to Olivia. "I'm sorry, Detective, but my little girl seems to loves you. I don't know what you did to earn that gift but I'm grateful."

"Its fine," Olivia said with her own smile towards the younger woman. "You have a very special daughter."

Carla chuckled kindly and kissed the top of Sofia's head. "Thank you."

"Mama, I wanna help," Sofia muttered softly.

"Help with what, baby?"

"Find the bad doctor."

Carla looked from Cragen to Olivia in confusion. "'Bad doctor' what is she talking about?"

"My two lead detectives, Detective Benson included, need to go undercover and their cover requires them to have a young female child," explained Cragen calmly.

Carla's eyes went wide as she looked from Olivia who was looking so hard at the carpet she was surprised she didn't burn holes into it to Cragen who was hoping both for her to say no as well as say yes.

"You… you want my daughter to go undercover with them?" gasped Carla. "She… she can't! What if she gets hurt?"

"She won't," assured Cragen. "She'll be with Detective Benson and her partner, Detective Stabler, every minute of the day. Detective Stabler even allowed his son to be a part of this operation."

Carla shook her head defiantly. "I don't want to put my daughter in harms way. Not with Samuel after us. It's too dangerous."

"Actually," said Fin as he came to a realization. "This will be the perfect way to protect her from Samuel. He won't know where she is, she'll be with two great cops 24/7… Carla, it'll be perfect."

"What if she's hurt?" asked Carla as she turned to Fin although they could see that Fin's words had softened her some to the idea.

"She won't be," Fin assured her. "Both Detective Benson and her partner saved me on different occasions. There are no two better cops here. And it'll let me and Sergeant Munch put all of our energy in protecting you."

Carla opened and closed her mouth several times before she swallowed hard. "Wha- what would she be doing?"

"Acting like a normal seven year old girl," Cragen explained. "She'll have to remember to stay 'in character' sort to speak when she's around anyone who isn't the Detectives but other than remembering another name as well as remembering the very basics of the Detectives she's staying with covers she won't have much to memorize."

"How dangerous is it?"

"It'll be hardly dangerous at all," he assured her. "The day that'll put my Detectives in the most danger Sofia will be in a cop car on her way back to Manhattan along with the other boy."

Carla swallowed hard as she hugged Sofia close to her as tears filled her eyes. "How long?" Olivia could hear the same degree of shame in Carla's voice as she had heard in Elliot's and she was reminded of the time when Olivia herself felt ashamed that she was not able to stop Vivian from taking Calvin from her.

"A month at the very most; if the Detectives are unable to acquire the target in that time we'll pull them out."

Carla sniffed and kissed the top of Sofia's head once more. "Am I allowed to know why you need my daughter?"

"I'm sorry, that's confidential," Cragen explained softly. "But know that she'll be helping us save a lot of innocent victims.

Another tear ran down her face and into Sofia's hair as she gently placed her down in the chair opposite Cragen. She kneeled on the floor next to Sofia and turned her so she was looking her in the eye. "Mija, are you sure you want to do this?"

Sofia nodded solemnly. "Please, Mommy. Let me help."

Carla sighed as she closed her eyes and nodded. "Okay… Okay, baby, you can help."

Sofia smiled brightly as she threw her arms around her and Carla hugged her back just as tight letting out a sob.

"I love you, Mija," she whispered just loud enough for Sofia to hear.

Carla released the hug and turned to Cragen. "If my daughter is hurt in anyway," she snarled low as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. "You're going to wish you never met me."

Olivia stood up from the chair and Carla looked up at her. "Ma'am, you have my word that I won't let anything happen to her. She'll come back to you safe."

"Do… do you promise?"

"I promise," said Olivia with an air of confidence that had the mother believing her that her daughter would be safe with this woman she hadn't known for more than ten minutes.

Carla nodded again and gave her a teary smile. "Thank you."

Cragen cleared his throat and Carla turned towards him. "Ma'am, I need to brief your daughter. I'm sorry but..."

Carla nodded in understanding. "Of course."

She turned back to Sofia and kissed her once more. "I'll be right outside, Sofia. You have to listen to this man, okay?"

"Okay."

Carla gently stroked Sofia's cheek before she left the room with Fin following, shutting the door behind them.

The moment they were outside the office Carla looked up at Fin, her eyes wide with terror. "What have I done?"

She let out a sob and threw her arms around his neck and buried her head in his shoulder. Fin, momentarily stunned, tentatively wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back in smooth circles. "It's gonna be okay," he told her, his voice a soft whisper, "She's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay…"

…

Later that night Olivia sat in her tiny apartment nursing yet another cold beer as she looked over the case file, trying to memorize everything they needed to know before tomorrow. The sound of her door buzzer tore her from her thoughts.

She got up from her couch and made her way over to her door. She had just enough time to look through the hole before the person on the other side all but slammed the door open making Olivia cry out in fright and jump back from the door.

"Elliot, what the hell are you doing?" demanded Olivia as Elliot slammed the door shut and rounded on her.

"Tell me what's going on and tell me now," he growled.

""What the hell gives you the right to barge in here like that! Get out of my apartment!" she shouted but he wasn't fazed in the least by her yelling.

"You're going to help protect my son against a pedophile ring. I have every right to know if there's something going on that might hurt him."

Olivia looked at him in loathing. "Nothing that is going on in my life will prevent me from doing my job!"

"Bull shit!" he snarled. "Ever since you came back from your appointment you've been acting different! Tell me what is going on now or I swear I will call up Cragen right now and pull Dickie!"

"You can't!" cried Olivia. "You'll screw up the operation!"

"This is my son!" he roared making her jump back a step. "I'm not letting him do this without knowing he's safe and right now I don't think he will be with you!"

"He will be!" Olivia shouted back. "I can take care of a child! Just because I can't-." She caught herself just in time and she furiously wiped the hot angry tears from her eyes. "Just leave me alone!"

She turned away from him and made her way to her liquor cabinet but Elliot grabbed her wrist and twisted her towards him. As she prepared to kick him where she had threatened yesterday she looked up at him, expecting the same raging anger that he showed moments ago and was surprised to find hurt and confusion in his eyes. "You can't what, Liv?"

"Nothing," she sighed. "Just go. Please."

"No. I know something is wrong, and I'm not leaving until I know."

"Elliot, just drop this okay?"

"No."

Olivia glared furiously at him as she wrenched out of his grasp. "If you won't go then I will."

She pushed past him and made her way to her door but Elliot ran to the door and got there before she did.

He stood in front of her and blocked her exit ignoring the livid anger in her eyes.

"You are my best friend, my partner, and the person I care more about then anything else on this earth besides my wife and children. You know everything about me and not knowing what hurting you… it's killing me, Liv."

"El, please," she pleaded as tears appeared in both their eyes. "Just stop."

"No. Not this time. Tell me what's wrong."

Olivia narrowed his eyes at her partner. "Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?"

"I learned it from my partner."

Olivia rolled her eyes at his answer as she sat back down on her couch with Elliot following.

A full minute passed where neither of them spoke. Olivia's hands began to shake as she closed her eyes in defeat. He wasn't going to give in. She was going to have to tell her nightmare to him…

"A few weeks ago," she began so softly she wasn't even sure Elliot could hear her. "I went to the Doctor's office for some tests"

"What kind of test?" asked Elliot, his voice soft and patient.

She took a shuddering breath before she continued her story. "I have been having this pain since god know when."

"What kind of pain?"

Olivia shook her head and swallowed hard before she answered. "Once... once a month," she muttered hoping he would get the message, "I have incredibly painful… cramps. Worse than contractions," she explained. "I could barely get out of bed some mornings it hurt so bad."

"Jesus, Liv," mumbled Elliot. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

She shrugged as she reached forward and played with a gouge in her coffee table. "I didn't want you thinking I was weak. But a few weeks ago I finally went and got it checked out. That's what the appointment a few days ago was for."

A bone chilling crippling fear overtook his entire self. He struggled to breathe much less breathe. "And ... what did they say?"

"They told me what was wrong and gave me medication to help," she answered.

Elliot placed his hand gently on hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Tell me what's wrong, Liv. Please," he pleaded.

She sniffed as more tears rolled down her face. "I have Endometriosis."

"What's that?"

"It's… the cells…" She let out a groan as she struggled to explain it in a way that didn't cause her even more embarrassment. After a moment she decided to tell him the simplest way she could. "I have tissue growing where it's not supposed to grow down there."

Elliot nodded in understanding at her oversimplified explanation. "Is it… I mean is it fatal?"

Olivia shook her head and she saw Elliot let out a breath of relief. "No but the doctor…" more tears leaked down her face and her eyes closed in defeat. "The doctor said I can't have children."

The brunette stood up and made her way over to the kitchen where she came to a stop. Elliot watched as Olivia cast her tear filled eyes to her flat stomach and tenderly ran her hand across it. "Every hope I had is gone," she whispered mournfully "Every one of them..."

Elliot got off the couch and slowly walked over to her. "Liv, I'm so sorry. Isn't there… isn't there a cure or something?"

"Surgery to remove the cysts and scar tissue but they only do that in the most severe cases. Right now my only option is to take pain pills and medication that'll stop my period."

Elliot reached out to rub her shoulders but she jerked away from him. Tears flowed down her face as she turned to him. "I want a child more than anything in the world and every chance I've had to be a mother has been ripped away from me. The adoption agency refuses to approve me, I'm not able to get pregnant on my own, and Vivian took Cal- Calvin away from me and I'll never see him again!"

A sob escaped her lips and Elliot reached out and hugged her tightly and she threw her arms around him.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she sobbed as she allowed herself to break down in front of the man she had struggled for over a dozen years to prove herself to.

"You didn't do anything," he whispered softly as he stroked her soft brown hair. "None of that is your fault. You would make a great mother, Liv."

He held her tighter as her sobs continued feeling his own tears fall silently, hating that the woman standing before him who did so much for everyone else every day was rewarded with cruel hands of fate. "It's okay," he told her as he continued to hold her. "Everything's gonna be okay…"

Olivia didn't believe a single word he spoke to her.

…

Trevor sighed happily as he finished the last bit of paperwork for the evening. All he had left on the agenda was to make the reservations for dinner tomorrow night but he would make those at home when he had an opportunity to look at the various places in the phonebook to see which was the most romantic. He would make sure his first date with Olivia would be one she remembered for years to come.

He stuffed his files in the briefcase along with his IPod, stuffed his phone in his pocket, and stood up as he grabbed his jacket and strolled out of the corner office shutting the lights off and locking the door behind him.

Trevor walked down the deserted hall giving a quick glance to make sure that he was the last one to leave the building, his father had always told him that if you were important enough to have your name on the building you were important enough to make sure no one worked longer then you, happily surprised that he didn't have to order any of his attorneys to go home after assuring them that the same web sites and book pages they were looking at now would be there in the morning.

He was just about to get on the elevator when he heard a low muttering coming from one of the darkened offices he had assumed was empty. Trevor silently walked over to the door and put his ear to it trying his best to stay out of the way of the window.

"I'll take care of it," the voice muttered followed by a short bout of silence. "They're not gonna get anywhere, trust me. Give me the names again. Don't worry about Carla; I got her being taken care of." Another moment of silence. "Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson, Manhattan SVU." The unknown man let out a malicious chuckle. "Only if I get to do the cop bitch first."

Trevor slammed open the door and flipped on the lights in the room as he stormed into the room.

Alexander Parrish slammed down the phone and looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights. "Who the hell were you talking to?" Trevor demanded, his gray eyes flashing with fury.

Alexander quickly straightened out his jacket and looked at him with a look that screamed authority. "What do you want, Langan?"

"I want you to know who the hell you were on the phone with talking about Detective Benson like that!" growled Trevor. While Alexander tried his best to appear smug and superior, he found it was a lot harder to appear that way when the man he was trying to intimidate was a whole head taller than him.

"Attorney client privilege," said Alexander with a smirk.

"Bull shit," he snapped, "what case are you working where it involves her?"

"You may be Partner, Langan, but I don't break confidentiality even to you."

Trevor glared down at the man who smirked up at him. "Tell me or you're fired."

"I have tenure."

""And the only reason you have that is because my father was too blind to see what a dirty rat bastard you are and by the time I took over it was too late to fire your sorry ass."

"Well then that proves that your father is just as big an idiot as you are."

Trevor grabbed him by the jacket and threw him up against the wall with a loud crash as easy as if he was a feather getting an inch away from his face.

"Get your hands off me or I'll sue you and the firm for harassment!" Alexander snarled.

Trevor ignored his idle threats. "Tell me what you meant when you said you got to be the first to 'do' her!"

"Serve her with a subpoena," Alexander said with a smirk. "Let me go now."

Trevor glared at him for several seconds before he let go of the man and took a step back. "If I found out you hurt her, Parrish, you're dead," he growled deep in his throat.

Alexander smirked as his boss's warning. "I'll keep that in mind while I'm… serving her."

Trevor went to seize him again but Alexander ducked out of his reach and out the door.

Running a hand through his normally neat and well styled hair he swallowed hard. What if what he overheard WAS confidential? He could lose his license if he told anyone.

Trevor took out his phone and for a brief moment contemplated what to do before he texted the number Olivia had given him months ago when he defended her for murder. He quickly typed three short words before he pressed send and stuffed the phone back into his pocket and headed out of the office.

But what he didn't know was ten minutes ago the phone company shut off his phone because he had been too preoccupied today to pay the monthly bill. The message that contained nothing less than "please be careful," had never been sent.

Please Review :)


	8. Chapter 8

I own no one but my own people. Proudly Co-Written by Bellatrix Wannabe 89.

"Hang on a second!" shouted Olivia as she raced from the bedroom to the front door.

Already knowing who it was this early in the morning, she opened the door to Elliot who was looking devilishly handsome in evidently expensive clothing than he would have ever been able to afford. She smiled at Elliot and looking over to the left slightly she seen Dickie standing, she nodded and moved to the right of the doorway for them to come inside.

"Hey you guys," she greeted kindly. "I just gotta grab my bags then we can hit the road okay?"

Dickie was also wearing clothes that Olivia had never seen the teenager wearing very often before. Elliot cleared his throat and nodded towards the bedroom. Dickie ignored his father's silent instruction.

"Well the FBI certainly knows how to push the boat out," Olivia chuckled as she fixed the collar on Dickie's shirt.

"Thanks," he muttered, his face growing a violent shade of red. Olivia smiled and nodded.

Elliot turned to Dickie and nodded towards the bedroom once more. "Go get the bags."

"Dad!" Dickie whined softly. Elliot raised his brow at his son's slight attitude. Dickie sighed but never the less headed into the bedroom.

The moment he was out of ear shot Elliot cleared his throat once more. "Are you okay?" His words were soft and just barely loud enough so that Olivia could hear him. "We never... I mean we never really got a chance to talk last night after you told me".

"I'm fine, El," she assured him with a false smile. "Really, I am".

"I know you, Liv, and I know that you need to talk to someone about this. I mean what that doctor told you... you don't get over that in the matter of a few days."

"I don't need to talk to anybody, I'm okay. Please just drop it," she pleaded.

"Liv-," Elliot began but when he saw Dickie coming out of the room with Olivia's bag dragging on the ground struggling with the heavy pack their chances to talk further vanished.

Elliot hurried over and took the bag from the struggling boy and slung it over his shoulder. He groaned under the weight of it. "Jesus, Olivia, how much did you pack?"

"Everything that the FBI had sent over to me last night," she answered with a shrug.

"Um, Dad, do I have to get the other bag in there too?" asked Dickie with a hint of nervousness. Elliot's eyes bugged out as he turned to Olivia who held up her hands in mock defeat.

"I'll get it," she assured them before she disappeared into the bedroom and came out moments later with a lighter bag.

"Alright, let's go," she announced as she grasped the lighter bag.

Shaking his head in disbelief Elliot followed Olivia as she turned off the main light and the trio left the small apartment.

...

A light snow had begun to fall when they pulled up outside the home that currently occupied Carla and Sofia in the new car the FBI had dropped off at Elliot's last night that looked more like it belonged in a Fast and Furious movie then to a family of four.

"I'll be right back," she told Elliot as she unbuckled and left the car.

Sofia was standing eating a slice of toast with her mother's arms wrapped around her.

Carla saw Olivia the moment she stepped out of the car. She was nervous; her heart began pounding in her chest as the detective approached them. Sofia smiled and ran up to Olivia throwing her arms around her; small peanut butter finger prints were left on Olivia's pant leg.

"Sorry," Sofia said noticing the smudge marks.

Olivia looked down at her and crinkled her nose and smiled. "It's okay, sweetie."

Olivia and Sofia walked over to Carla. Carla wrapped her arms around her daughter and kissed her head.

"You be good for Olivia okay?" She spoke softly to her

"I will be, mommy." Sofia smiled up at her mother. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

Tears slowly rolled down Carla's face and she held her daughter tight in her arms. "My baby girl," she whispered faintly as she kissed the top of her head once more, her eyes squeezing shut against the offensive tears.

Olivia felt her heart aching as she witnessed the sweet goodbye Carla was giving Sofia. She saw the pure unwavering love in Carla's eyes when she looked at Sofia, a love that only a parent could have. Olivia wanted to feel that more than anything in the world but she knew her one chance had been ripped away from her the very same day Vivian ripped Calvin from her arms.

A shuddering breath ripped past Carla's lips as she reluctantly released Sofia.

"Go get your things, Mija," Carla said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Sofia nodded before she ran up the stairs and grabbed the small rucksack and her white stuffed teddy bear.

She rushed back over to Carla and gave her a swift one armed hug and a quick kiss goodbye before she dashed towards the car where Elliot strapped her in safely.

Olivia gave Carla a brief smile before she too turned back towards the car but Carla reached out and lightly grabbed her wrist.

Olivia turned back to the other woman and was surprised to see any traces of tenderness gone replaced by a look of a ferocious protection.

"She is my life, Miss Benson," Carla said in a cross between a growl and a plea. "If anything happens to her-."

"I promise you that she will be safe," Olivia said with her most trusting smile.

Carla's face softened at her words and looked over at the car where Elliot was introducing Dickie to Sofia. "Please. I can't… I can't lose her."

"You won't," Olivia assured her. "I swear on my own life that nothing bad will happen to her."

A look of mild panic overtook Carla's features. "Can I… can I get an address or phone number at least? Just to know that she's okay?"

"I'm sorry, Carla, but you can't contact her until this operation is over and I can't give you any details about the operation."

Carla looked like she was about to protest but nodded none the less and took a step away from the detective. "Keep her safe."

With those three final words hanging in the air Carla turned and headed back inside the building.

Olivia sighed and ran a hand through her hair before she headed back to the car.

"Everything okay?" Elliot asked faintly as Olivia got in and buckles her seatbelt.

"I'm fine," Olivia lied as she turned around on her seat and smiled at Sofia and Dickie. The two children where looking through rucksacks that Elliot had just given to them.

"This is so cool!" Dickie exclaimed as he pulled out a PSP and a top of the line game.

A smile grew on Sofia's as well as she pulled out her prize. "An I-pod!" she said with a beaming grin. "Thank you!"

"I don't know if you have to give those back when we're done so be careful with them alright?" Elliot warned as he started the car.

"Okay," both kids agreed as they became fully engrossed in the new electronics they had been given.

Olivia shook her head and smiled, placing her head against the window thought drifted to what was in store.

"So here's the thing guys," Elliot said as they drove off looking in the window at them. "It's very important that you don't make a mistake and call one of us by our real names or call each other by your real names. So from now on, even when we're not around other people you have to use our fake names just to get yourself used to it. Sofia you have to call me 'dad', and both of you have to call Olivia 'mom' alright? Sofia, Dickie's name is 'Nick' and Sofia, your name is 'McKenzie' and our last name is 'Tearny' okay?"

"Okay," they both repeated in a much more serious tone then before.

"Good. Now it's gonna take a while to get where we're gonna be staying and you were both up late last night so why don't you try to get some sleep?"

Both children nodded and sunk back into the seats and their eyes fluttered close

…

_Pulling up outside a picturesque house with the path covered in a gentle layer of undisturbed snow, Craig Tearny stopped at the bottom of the drive way he looked around the car. His wife, Baillie, was sitting with her feet on the dash board reading, his son Nick, 10, was playing his PSP, while his daughter McKenzie, 7, was listening to her IPod._

_"We're here!" he announced happily to his family and turned off the car._

_Nick was the first to leave the vehicle followed straight after by McKenzie. They jumped down from the car as the sound of the snow crunching under their feet rang through the silent air._

_"Hey I want to ruin the snow!" McKenzie shouted in mock anger._

_McKenzie dropped to the ground and began to make snow angels on the ground. When she stood up the young girl stood back to admire the beautiful image she crated on the blinding white powder. Nick took this moment while her guard down to make a snowball and threw it, hitting the back of his sister's head. _

"_Bulls eye!" Nick shouted as he jumped up and down only to be stopped in his tracks moments later by a snowball threw by his sister. _

_The quiet street soon filled with the echo of the children's playful laughter. Bending down Mackenzie rolled up another small amount of packy snow in her gloved hands before she raised it above her head and threw it at her brother. A full blown snowball fight soon followed._

_"Guy's, empty the car first then play," Craig shouted as he and Baillie grabbed their bags from the trunk._

_The kids ran and picked up their bags from the car while Baillie opened the door to the new house. Placing the bag she had over her shoulder gently onto the ground she looked around and smiled. The two children ran past her and thundered up the stairs she had half a mind to scold them for being too loud but decided to let it go. _

_She had just begun to walk into the kitchen when McKenzie came trudging down the stairs and stormed over to her before she tugged on hers mother's shirt. She turned around to see the young girl was standing crossed armed and wasn't looking happy._

_"Mom, Nick took the best room!" she moaned._

_"You should have been quicker then," her mother replied trying not to laugh at the young girl._

_McKenzie walked away in a huff and went into the smaller of the two room's, and began placing her stuff neatly around. The movers had been up the day before with the van, filled with the beds and the larger furniture, so they had a good start._

_Craig came in behind Baillie and the two glanced at one another for a moment. Baillie managed a smile. "Everything will be alright," she promised him._

_Craig took a deep breath and nodded, giving her a weak smile of his own. "I know…"_

_The two smiled at one another before they grabbed their separate bags and headed up towards their new room._

_Hours later after all of the clothes had been put away the small family gathered in the living room. Craig and Baillie sat on the couch while Nick and McKenzie sat on the beautiful crafted hard wood floors in front of them. Nick was playing with his PSP once more while McKenzie was drawing a picture with a dark red crayon._

"_Everyone got all their stuff unpacked?" Craig asked the two children._

_Nick and McKenzie's ashamed voices spoke the same word almost instantly. "Almost."_

"_I'll help them later," Baillie assured them with a smile to prove they weren't in trouble. "But for now we gotta figure out something for dinner. I'll go to the store tomorrow so I guess we need to order in tonight." _

_"Pizza!" both children shouted in unison._

_"Least you both agree on something," Craig said with a chuckle. "Now the bigger question; pepperoni or cheese?"_

_The shout of Nick's "Pepperoni!" meshed loudly with McKenzie's "Cheese!"_

"_No, pepperoni," said Nick as he hit his sister in the arm causing the pile of paper she was holding to slip from her grip, and drop to the floor in a mess._

_"Dad, Nick hit me!" she whined._

_"Nick, don't hit your sister okay?" he replied in a stern voice._

_McKenzie stuck her tongue out and sat on her father's knee. Rubbing her hair gently he looked over to his wife,_

_"You want me to go pick it up or call it in?" he asked._

_"Go pick it up and get the number when you're there," she replied._

_Nodding he placed McKenzie down on the floor and got up from the couch._

_Grabbing his car keys from the coffee table in front of him he headed out of their new house._

_An hour later when he entered the house again he was surprised at what he saw._

_"You can't do your rooms…," he mused as he put the two large pizzas, one cheese and one pepperoni, on the coffee table, "but you have time to play the Wii?"_

_"There's always time for the Wii, Dad," Nick replied not taking his eyes from the TV his mother had hastily hooked up._

_Craig rolled his eyes but never the less sat down next to his wife on the couch and grabbed a slice of pepperoni. "Twenty bucks says I kick your ass after this game."_

_Baillie smirked as she grabbed a slice of cheese. "You're on."_

_Hours later after they ate the pizza, and Craig had to pay the twenty dollars to his wife, the family played Wii for a little while until they were so tired the kids nearly fell on their feet._

_"Alright," Craig announced as he clapped his hands together. "Both of you upstairs, time for bed. Tomorrow is a big day, you guys."_

_Both Nick and McKenzie were too tired to argue so instead they turned and headed off towards the stairs and descended up them._

_"You ready for this?" Elliot muttered to Olivia as they watched their 'children' head off to bed, slipping out of his persona that Cragen has assigned to him earlier that day._

_"No," Olivia breathed voicing the anxiousness she had been feeling all day._

…

The next morning Olivia slowly awoke and it took a moment to remember where she was and why she was there.

She blinked her eyes open and sat up in the bed far more comfortable then she had ever slept in. She yawned and stretched her arms to the sky, loving the feel of the silky teddy the FBI had given her against her skin. Olivia leaned up against the headboard and closed her eyes as she let the warmth of the fireplace wash over her.

Her eyes flew open as she looked over towards the other side of the room where a fire was blazing away in an old fashioned fire place that she had no memory of lighting. Who the hell had lit the blazing fire?

"You try sleeping above the covers in the middle of January and not get cold," Elliot's voice rang from the other side of the room.

Olivia turned towards a clothed Elliot who was wearing a button up short sleeve striped white and red shirt and a pair of beige khakis and rolled her eyes at his statement. "I gave you the option of sleeping above the sheet or above the blanket, you choose above the blanket."

Elliot shrugged before he made his way over to her. "I'm not complaining I'm just saying it got cold."

He laid back on the bed and sighed as he rested his head against the headboard. "You know for rat bastards the FBI really knows how to make an undercover stint comfortable," he muttered sleepily. "The showers are just heaven."

"I'm gonna have to agree with you on that one," Olivia replied as she reached over and grabbed her phone. "I really hope we get to keep the clothes afterwards."

Elliot nodded in agreement and watched as Olivia turned on her phone and waited for it to power on.

As soon as it did the screen told her she had two new calls and two new voice messages. She rapidly scrolled down and groaned loudly and dropped her head into her hands. "I'm an idiot!" she mumbled, resisting the urge to throw the phone against the wall.

"What's going on?" asked Elliot, suddenly wide awake. "Is it Cragen or Porter?"

"No," she sighed. "I had a date last night, I forgot all about it, and now the guy probably thinks I stood him up."

Elliot's eyes narrowed in confusion and the tiniest bit of annoyance. "A date? You never told me you had a date."

"I was a little busy dealing with other things," she said dryly. "And in any case I missed it. I gotta call him."

Olivia threw the covers off of her and sat up in the bed along with Elliot. "Who's him?" he demanded.

"Him is none of your business," answered Olivia shortly.

She got out of the bed and walked across the room to the bathroom on the other side of the room with Elliot following.

"If he's dating my partner I have every right to know 'him'," Elliot shot back as Olivia closed the door in his face and quickly dialed the number of the person who had called her.

"Trevor Langan, attorney at law," the familiar voice answered.

"Trevor, I am SO sorry," Olivia apologized hastily. "I'm just dealing with a lot of things now and the date completely slipped my mind." She ignored Elliot's cries of 'Trevor? Trevor Langan? Oh hell no!' and waited apprehensively for his response.

"Olivia? Hey I um… I missed you last night."

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot and I'm… I'm busy with my job."

"I understand about the job, I honestly truly do, and I actually had a backup plan if I needed to reschedule, but you couldn't have called me just to let me know you weren't gonna be at your apartment?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "There was no excuse and I should have called and told you I wasn't gonna be able to make it."

She bit her lip as she heard him sigh over the phone and she could tell he was struggling not to say something that would offend her. "It's… its fine, Olivia. Do you want to reschedule or forget I even asked or…?"

"Yes I want to reschedule and no I don't want to forget you ask but…"

"But what?"

Olivia sighed as she leaned against the door and slid down. "But… I'm undercover and I don't know how long it's gonna take to catch these guys."

There was a moment of stunned silence and Olivia could hear the groan from outside the door. "Wow," muttered Trevor. "I um…." He cleared his throat. "I didn't really expect to hear that."

"I'm sorry. I got asked to be a part of it the day after you asked me out."

Olivia was more than relieved to hear the slight annoyance in his tone be replaced by shock. "No no, its fine, it's fine. Um… do you maybe wanna go out while you're undercover? You can even meet me at the restaurant if you're worried about blowing your cover."

Olivia bit her lip as she turned towards the bathroom door where she knew Elliot was listening. "I'm not really supposed to do that."

"Its fine," he assured her and Olivia let out a breath of relief when she heard the slight air of seduction in his tone. "After all patience is a virtue when it comes to something you really want."

She couldn't help but smile at his words. "And what exactly is it you want, Mr. Langan?" she asked flirtatiously.

"Now see I could tell you only half the truth and sound like a gentlemen or tell you the whole truth and probably get slapped so I want to take you out on the most romantic date you ever had and l will leave it at that."

Olivia laughed at his answer. "Well that sounds incredibly fun and I can't wait until both halves of your truth actually comes true."

"Me as well. And I wish I could talk longer but I have a meeting with a client in ten minutes."

"Yeah I actually gotta get going as well. I'll talk to you later."

"I can't wait," he told her with a twinge of flirtation. "I'll talk to you later, Olivia."

"Bye, Trevor."

Olivia hung up her phone and a rare sigh of happiness escaped her. She didn't move from her spot on the ground until she heard Elliot slamming on the door.

"Olivia Benson, open this door and open it now!" he shouted through the expensive wood.

Olivia rolled her eyes at her partners demand but never the less stood up and opened the door to an irate Elliot.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he growled as she pushed past him and made her way over to the dresser. "You just blew our cover! And to a defense attorney as well!"

"No I didn't. All I told him was I was undercover. Trevor doesn't know who, or what, or where or why. We're fine, Elliot."

"Oh on a first name basis are we? You're fraternizing with the enemy, Liv! How long has this been going on?"

"The only enemies I have are bastards who think they can control what I do and who I see," Olivia snarled as rounded on him. "And not that it's ANY of your business but last night was going to be our first date."

Elliot shook his head in disgust. "It's really sad that you think that a punk like Langan is an answer to any of the messed up problems you have right now."

Olivia crossed her arms in front of her and glared furiously at him but he refused to back down. "I don't actually. Believe it or not, Elliot, I can date without having an ulterior motive."

"You know, Olivia, you're just so damn stubborn you-."

"Um, Dad."

Both Olivia and Elliot turned towards the door and saw Dickie, still dressed in a baggy shirt and pajama pants looking between the two of them.

Elliot sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger "What do you want, Dickie?"

"There's a guy here, says he's our new neighbor and wants to meet you. He said he's a doctor."

All at once any petty arguments or fights flew out the window and both partners snapped instantly into detective mode.

"Where's Sofia?" Olivia demanded as she raced over to the bed and threw on the light pink silk robe she had been given.

"She's not awake yet," Dickie told her. "Do you want me to tell him you'll be right down?"

"No!" Elliot barked at his son. "I don't want you anywhere near this guy unless me or Olivia is in the room with you, do you understand?"

Dickie nodded and watched as Olivia and Elliot hurried out of the room.

"I'm sorry for any of the asshole things I'm about to say or do to you," Elliot said as they raced down the hall.

For a moment Olivia was confused by what he meant but then she remembered that 'Craig' was supposed to be abusive to his wife. "That's fine but what about the asshole things you already said or did to me?"

"I'm not done yelling yet, I'll apologize later," he told her as they hurried down the stairs.

They slowed once they reached the door and stopped in front of it. They looked at one another, gave each other curt nods before Elliot opened the door.

The man standing outside turned towards them and both detectives forced smiles to replace the cringes and snarling glares they wanted to throw his way.

His striking blue eyes held an icy coldness that sent shudders down their spines despite the smile on his attractive pale face. His jet black hair was combed and styled neatly with a tiny degree of luster to it. He was taller than Elliot by a mere inch and had on a pair of expensive faded jeans with a crisp expensive light blue shirt that showed off his well defined abs.

"Doctor Malcolm Watt," he greeted as he stuck out his hand to Elliot. "I'm your new neighbor. Just thought I'd come over and say hi."

"Hi, Malcolm. I'm Craig Tearny," Elliot welcomed with his own smile as he took Malcolm's hand and shook it. The two men released the grip and Elliot motioned to Olivia. "This is my wife Baillie."

"Pleasure to meet you," said Olivia with a soft smile.

Malcolm returned the smile and gave her a short nod. "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Tearny."

"Would you like to come in?" Elliot offered as he moved out of the way for the doctor to come in.

"Thank you," Malcolm said with another short nod before he walked into the house. Olivia glanced upstairs and silently prayed that Sofia would stay asleep while he was here.

"So how long have you lived in the neighborhood?" Elliot asked rousing Olivia from her thoughts, as the trio walked to the kitchen.

"Going on three years now," Malcolm answered as he took a seat that Elliot was offering. "I love it, especially in the winter. A lot of houses look like a post card."

"That's one of the reasons why we picked this house actually," Olivia said as sat down at the table along with Elliot who turned and gave her a sharp glare. "It's just so beautiful out here."

"Oh I agree and the inside looks even more beautiful than the-"

"I'm sorry for the interruption, Malcolm," Elliot apologized before he turned towards Olivia who turned towards her partner. "I assumed _someone_ was going to offer you coffee before she sat down but apparently she could care less about making a good first impression."

Olivia forced an apologetic look to her face as she quickly stood up from the table.

"I'm sorry," she apologized with a weak smile before she stood up and headed towards the coffee maker.

Elliot shook his head as the silky material became all but see through as the early morning light flooded through the window and hit her robe. "Do you think maybe you could put some clothes on first before you served our guest? Jesus Christ, Baillie," he muttered just loud enough for Malcolm to hear him.

"But I... Babe, I thought you wanted me to make coffee?"

Anger flashed in Elliot's eyes and if it wasn't for the fact Olivia knew him better than anyone, she would have thought he was honestly mad at her for her noncompliance.

"Are you arguing with me?"

Olivia swallowed hard and shook her head before she cleared her throat and willed a clearly forced smile to her lips. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'll be right back."

With a fleeting apologetic smile that she flashed Malcolm who seemed to appear just as annoyed as Elliot for her slight disobedience she left the kitchen and headed up the steps.

"I swear to God it's like raising another kid sometimes," Elliot muttered as he shook his head and looked over at Malcolm. "You married?"

"Never could find the right woman unfortunately."

"Trust me you dodged a bullet there. If it wasn't for her talents in the bedroom I'd dump her ass in a heartbeat. Apart from that aspect in the marriage she's useless."

"But she gave you such a beautiful son," Malcolm argued, not caring even the tiniest smidge that Elliot just cruelly insulted Olivia.

Elliot's hand curled into a shaking fist under the table as he struggled to control the rage inside him when he heard this pedophile talk about Dickie. After another moment of silence he forced the words from this mouth trying his hardest to not appear effected by his words. "Daughter too but," he shrugged. "Sometimes none of it's worth it, you know? Hell I'm the 4th best realtor in New York State; I could get a younger, hotter, sexier woman in a heartbeat if I wasn't afraid of that free loader getting her hands on my money. If she wants the brats, let her take them. Shit they're probably not even mine."

Elliot had carefully watched Malcolm as he spoke, watching him go from disinterested to nearly wetting himself over the lies the FBI had told to feed him. Malcolm hid his excitement expertly as he cleared his throat. "You're a realtor?"

Elliot nodded. "Going on thirteen years now. That's how Baillie and I met actually. She was helping a friend buy a house. It was lust at first sight." Elliot shrugged once more. "After six months of dating I decided if putting a ring on her finger meant I get in her pants any time I wanted then I was all for it."

Malcolm chuckled at Elliot's explanation for getting married. "Most men say that the sex stops once the ring is on her finger."

Elliot scoffed and gave him a look of disbelief. "Most men don't know how to handle their woman."

Malcolm nodded in agreement before they heard footsteps descend down the stairs. Elliot blatantly and obviously looked over Olivia who was wearing a pair of dark form fitting jeans and a black flowing shirt that accentuated her curves and a pair of strappy black heels.

Elliot shrugged carelessly as he turned back to Malcolm. "Better."

Olivia forced herself to beam at Elliot's half assed 'compliment' as if it was the kindest thing he had ever said to her. She went over to the coffee maker and grabbed the pot and quickly filled it with water before she headed back over to the coffee maker and filled it with water followed by a filter filled with several scoops of the coffee that Olivia had grabbed from home.

Olivia walked over to the cupboard where the coffee cups were and she paused for a moment before she purposely brushed against one of the expensive mugs making it fall and crash to the floor.

Elliot jumped from the chair and rounded on a now frightened looking Olivia. "What the hell did you do?" he shouted as he stormed over to her.

"I'm sorry!" cried Olivia with panic in her tone as she bent down and began to pick up the glass. "Baby, I'm so sorry! I'll clean it up."

"Don't use your hands get a fucking broom! Use some common sense!" he yelled as he grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her away from the small pile of ceramics.

The grip was miniscule at that and Olivia could have easily gotten out of it if she wanted to and had she been barefoot or wearing flats she would have been fine but due to the heels that adorned her feet she stumbled and ended up smashing her back against the sharp edge of the counter.

"Shit!" Olivia cried out as she fell to the floor. She reached around and grabbed her back. She winced and jumped at the contact and whimpered in pain as she arched her back trying to relieve some of the pain.

Elliot snapped towards her and it took every single ounce of will power he possessed not to run over and help her.

Malcolm rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Idiot," he muttered as he turned and gave a small glare towards Olivia.

Elliot stormed over to her and stood over, blocking her from Malcolm's view. "Get up! You're embarrassing me!"

Olivia could hardly move much less heed to his request. "Give me a second. Please," she pleaded softly.

"I said get up!" he snarled as he brought his foot back and swung it forward, stopping an inch away from her skin. To Malcolm and anyone else behind or around them it looked like he had just kicked her.

Olivia cried in pain and held her stomach where Elliot pretended to kick her. "Stop!" Olivia cried as she willed tears to flood her eyes.

"Leave her alone!"

All three adults turned towards the doorway and saw a terrified Sofia, dressed in a satin lavender colored nightgown and Dickie still wearing boxers and a T-Shirt, standing in the door way. "Stop it!" Sofia sobbed as tears made their way down her face as she looked over at Elliot and Olivia. "Stop hurting her!"

"McKenzie!" Dickie, whom Elliot had already explained to that he would be pretending to hurt and insult Olivia when there were other people around, warned putting a slight emphasis on her new name. "Leave it alone! Come with me," he told her before any damage could be done.

With a look of intense hatred towards Elliot Sofia allowed Dickie to take her by the hand and take her from the room.

Elliot turned towards Malcolm who was staring at the spot where Sofia was just standing and the detective held back a shudder of disgust as Malcolm licked his lips.

"I'm so sorry about all of this," Elliot apologized as he walked over to the man. "She's turning out to be just as big a bitch as her mother."

Malcolm looked at the spot for a moment longer he turned back to Elliot and offered a large beaming smile. "It's fine. You know I'm a pediatrician," he explained, both men seemingly ignoring Olivia who was still struggling to ignore the blinding shearing pain in her back. "If you're looking for a doctor for your son or your daughter I'll give you a discount."

Elliot forced a smile on his lips. "That'd be great," he answered feeling bile rise in his throat. "And I'm so sorry to cut this meeting short but I gotta clean up that, and deal with McKenzie and my wife…"

"Say no more," Malcolm said as he stood up. "I completely understand."

"Perfect. I'll walk you out then?"

"Of course," he said with a kind smile.

Acting as if Olivia wasn't even in the same room as them the two men left the room. When they left her she slowly laid down on the floor, loving the cold feel of the tile against her back but at the same time she was struggling to hold back tears as she laid on it.

She heard the mutterings of the two men in the front living room but couldn't even attempt to pay attention to their words. Another minute passed and she finally heard the sound of the door opening and closing. The moment the door latched she heard Elliot sprint back into the kitchen.

"Oh God, Liv, I'm so sorry!" he cried as he kneeled beside her, a look of panic and fright in his eyes. "I swear I didn't mean to hurt you! Are you okay? Oh god I'm sorry!"

"You're fine. I know you didn't mean it... Oh Christ this hurts," she whimpered.

Elliot reached behind her and tenderly placed one hand on her back. She hissed in pain but never the less allowed him to put his other hand under her knees and lifted her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he carried her wedding style to the couch.

"What did you and him talk about?" Olivia asked as he gently set her down on the couch, wincing in pain as her back made contact with the fabric.

"He invited me to play golf at his country club this Wednesday," he told her as he kneeled down beside her.

"That's perfect," Olivia told him, missing the look of shame and failure. "You go there, dirty us up a little more, he'll be offering to work with you in no time."

"That would be perfect except there's one little problem."

"What?"

Elliot took a deep breath and looked into her eyes before he spoke. "He only wants me to go… if Sofia comes with me."

…

Fin worked silently on paperwork, his small desk lamp practically the only source of light in the otherwise abandoned building.

He groaned as he leaned back in his chair, throwing his pen down in frustration. Nothing about this case was making sense.

There had to have been at least fifteen different sets of prints in Samuel's basement but they weren't finding any information on any of them besides Samuel himself. No missing persons reports, no rap sheet, no witnesses… no anything.

Maybe Sofia was just making stuff up, Fin thought bitterly. Maybe there were no kidnapped children in Samuel's basement.

Fin sighed as he picked up the pen again and tried to focus on the mountain of paperwork surrounding this case. Several uninterrupted minutes passed before he heard the sound of the elevator dinging. He looked over at gray lifts and he narrowed his eyes in confusion when he saw the person step off of the elevator.

"Carla, what are you doing here?" asked Fin as the woman walked over towards him. As she got nearer his desk he could see the stained remnants of tears on her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," said Carla softly as she approached him, wiping the remainder of the tears from her eyes. "I just… I miss her so much. This was am mistake. I need her back!"

Fin stood up from his chair and hurried over to her and took her by the shoulders. "Carla, you can't do that."

"She's my daughter!"

"I know, but listen to me. If you tell anyone or pull her out you'll be putting everyone's lives in danger. Detective Benson, Detective Stabler, Elliot's kid, and a lot of innocent victims... You can't pull her, Carla."

A fresh batch of tears flooded her eyes. "I've screwed up her life so bad. I let that monster see her, I let her around him and his friends, and drugs, and sex… I ruined my daughter."

"Carla, listen to me." Fin's voice softened and he put his finger under her chin and lifted it until she brown eyes met brown. "You are an amazing mother. You love her, she loves you, and you have done your hardest to make sure that whatever Samuel is involved with stayed away from her when she's with you. You're an amazing, beautiful woman who made a few mistakes. It happens. But you drive on and you make Sofia's and your life the best you can make it, no matter what circumstances you're under."

A timid smile shone on her face. "You… you really think I'm beautiful?"

Fin chuckled softly and moved a lock of hair from her face. "I haven't lied to you yet."

Their eyes met for a moment. The light seemed to dim even more if possible. Carla took a step forward and only a heartbeat of hesitation she leaned in and kissed him.

Fin remained motionless for a half second before he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against him, kissing her back with the same grade of restraint.

Carla draped her arms around his neck and increased the franticness in the kiss, licking the valley in between his lips. Fin eagerly gave her access to his mouth and she slowly ran his tongue over his, moaning at the delectable taste of him. Fin's hand moved down and gripped her ass and she moaned in his mouth once more as the two stumbled back and fell onto his desk.

Fin roughly massaged her ass for another few seconds before his hands came up under her shirt and moved up her taut stomach.

He stopped just short of her breasts and Carla eagerly grabbed his wrists and moved them up and under her bra.

She feverishly tried to undo the buttons on his shirt but when she found her hands fumbling with the buttons she ripped open the offensive fabric, marveling at the very well formed chest he had built up over the years.

"Damn, girl, slow down," Fin muttered as Carla bent down and attacked his neck with licks and kisses. He moaned as she gently nipped the sensitive skin.

Fin easily twisted them around so he was on top. She eagerly wrapped her long legs around him as he nestled in between her thighs.

He bent down and made her shudder as he gently bit her ear lobe, his hot breath on her skin making her moan.

"Hazme el amor. Hazme olvidar," Carla panted as he grabbed the bottom of her shirt and wrenched it above head.

"Oh shit," Fin whispered as he felt himself growing harder at her foreign words. "Tell me what that means, baby. Tell me what you want."

"Make love to me," she moaned as his hands reached around and unclasped her bra and ripped the clothing away from her body. "Make me forget."

Fin paused as she translated her words. He looked down into her wanting and waiting eyes and nodded, silently promising her he would make sure she never felt the way she had minutes ago again.

As his hand painfully slowly trailed down her abs and unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans, he started to make good on his promise…

Please Review


	9. Chapter 9

We own no one but our own people. Proudly Co-written by Bellatrix Wannabe 89

The moon's shadow lingered high in the cold crisp midnight air. Melinda Warner was kneeling staring into a large yet shallow mass grave. The bones and fresh corpses were laid out with expert precision. The particular bones she was looking at were of a child. She estimated the child's age to be of around 1 year old. She had seen a lot in her long service as a Medical examiner but a body of a child always shook her to the bone.

They had been alerted to the location when a member of the building company hired to build new high end luxury apartment complex started to do renovations and some unlucky construction crewmen had been unfortunate enough to begin digging the foundation in that spot…

Warner sighed as she saw the bright headlights of a car pull up to the scene reflect on the ground around her. She turned and saw a very amused Munch and a clearly annoyed Fin exit the car.

"So what did YOU do last night?" asked Munch with a smirk on his face as he and his partner walked over to Warner, not yet knowing the full extent of the horror they were walking towards.

"Shut up, Munch," Fin grumbled.

"You know I was just wondering because you know half of your stuff was on the floor, those hickies on your neck, and oh yeah, you were sleeping naked next to Carla in the crib."

"Shut UP, Munch!"

"Oh come on I'm just playing. But I told you that you two would make a cute couple. So… when's the wedding?"

"Munch!"

"What do we got?

Normally Warner would have been amused by her two friend's antics but as she stared into the mass grave she doubt she would have found anything remotely amusing again.

She said nothing and gestured to the grave in front of her.

Fin and Munch walked over to it and looked in the hole, any miniscule inklings of smiles or joy or annoyance wiped from their faces and replaced by a look of horror.

"What the hell is this?" Fin breathed unable to turn from the sight in front of him.

"I don't know," said Warner truthfully. "None of the remains seem to belong to anyone over the age of one and it looks like it goes back at least fifteen years and the most recent is only a few weeks old. Just from glancing it looks like at least fifty corpses"

"This is… who the fuck could do something like this?" said Fin as one of the newer bodies caught his eye; an African American male who looked like he had been alive less than a day before they killed him. There was a small circular birthmark on his right shoulder that was a shade or two darker then his skin. Ken had that same birthmark…

"It looks like a lot of them have some form of deformities," Warner said drawing Fin's attention back to her. "Down syndrome, conjoined twins, cleft pallet, withered limbs, FAS…" she read off looking at some of the unmistakable features in the bones.

"So what this is just a mass grave of deformed babies?" asked Munch disgusted at whoever was responsible.

"Not all of them are deformed though. Some look premature and some look like there's nothing wrong with them physically."

"Could we be thinking angel of death Doctor?" Fin asked out loud to his colleagues.

Warner shook her head. "No. Look at the newest one right on top."

Fin and Munch followed her instructions and their eyes fell on what appeared to be a normally formed infant baby girl with a small tuft of red hair on top of her head. She looked like she hadn't even been dead a week…

"There's a clear bruising on the neck in the shape of an adult hand," Warner explained pointing to the dark mark around the infant's throat. "Any angel of death would have been a hell of a lot more subtle and a lot less violent."

Fin shook his head in disgust. "Someone put their hands around this poor child's neck and watched the light leave her eyes. Fucking bastard…"

Warner nodded in agreement before she stood up and sighed. "I'm gonna try to get some kind of fingerprints from the bruising on her neck and check the newer ones for bruises of fingerprints but this is gonna take a hell of a long time to sort all these out. I promise it'll be top priority though," she assured them when both detectives gave her sharp glares at the news.

Without another word towards their medical examiner Munch and Fin turned and walked back to their car. "So what's the plan?" said Munch any hint of jokes or humor vanished.

"We go back and look up if any deformed infants have been reported missing," answered Fin.

"For the past fifteen years, with no inkling of where they're from, with over ninety percent of them just being skeletons, and not even knowing if they're male or female or their precise ages?"

"Yes."

"Sounds like a plan, count me in."

For a moment the smallest inkling of a smile wanted to appear on Fin's face but it had vanished as soon as it appeared. By the time they got to the car a low rumbling distant thunder could be heard and tiny cold drops of rain began to fall.

"So," Munch began as he got in the passenger side while Fin got in the driver's seat. "You gonna call Carla again?"

"Yeah. I mean I like her, she's kind, sexy, beautiful, smart… what's not to like?"

"The fact she has a psychotic drug dealer for an ex and the fact that Olivia will be crushed if she finds out that you're gonna be Sofia's new daddy when she loves her."

"First off we had sex once and haven't even gone out. I'm not buying a ring anytime soon," Fin snapped. "Second Olivia needs to settle down and get her own family instead of falling in love with kids that aren't hers. Yeah she cares for Sofia but she's only forty three, she still has time to do what Elliot did. Get the house with the picket fence, the barn, the weathergail, the running horse, the husband, the 2.5 kids... Granted it's not a lot of time but its still time."

"I'll take asshole statements for three hundred, Alex," Munch said dryly.

"Well it's true. Olivia's hot, she could get any guy she wanted or if she didn't want the baggage there's sperm banks that'll sell her what she needs to make a baby. She could have a child of her own if she wanted to, Munch, and I'm not gonna feel guilty because I may or may not fall for the woman who has a kid Olivia loves after meeting her a whole ten minutes. Now can we please stop talking about Olivia and Sofia and Carla and do our damn jobs?"

Munch shrugged carelessly. "Fine by me."

With a curt nod towards his aging partner Fin drove off into the night…

…

Olivia stared wide eyed at her partner. "He what?"

"Malcolm wants to go golfing with me and Sofia. Sofia, get down here," Elliot called up the stairs. With a soft groan Olivia got up from the couch and walked in front of him.

"You can't take her, Elliot," Olivia said. "He's dangerous."

"And I'll be right there to protect her."

"What if you can't?" Olivia said, more desperate then she intended to. The mere thought of anyone even remotely hurting Sofia was painful enough to the detective to bring tears to her eyes.

Elliot narrowed his eyes in that trademark 'what the hell did she say to me?' glance. "She'll be fine. I can take care of her."

Olivia opened her mouth to protest but the sound of reluctant feet on the wooden steps made her stop cold.

Elliot and Olivia turned towards Sofia who was giving Elliot a look of undeniable fear and hate. She wanted to shout and scream at him but she was too frightened of him to do so.

Elliot recognized the look the young girl had plastered on her face. It was the look that children gave to their attackers if they knew them, trusted them... and then they had broken that trust.

Elliot sighed and motioned her over, hoping that Olivia wouldn't be too mad at him to fight with him on this. As the young girl approached her eyes flickered between the two adults as if she wasn't quite sure who she should side with.

Loyalty won out against fear and Sofia went and stood in front of Olivia facing Elliot as if she could protect her if he attacked once more.

Elliot kneeled down to her level and Sofia took a tentative step away from him. "Sofia," Elliot began softly. "I'm sorry you had to see me and Olivia this morning, you weren't supposed to see that."

Sofia remained silent, not daring to contradict or argue with him. "We were just pretending, I promise. I would never hurt Olivia; she's my best friend. You know how you have to pretend to be a different person and pretend that me and Olivia are your parents? Well I have to pretend to be very mean and cruel to Olivia and she has to pretend that she's not strong enough to fight back. It's very wrong for a man to hit a woman and any man who does is a coward but I had to pretend to do it for my job."

Sofia swallowed hard as she loved over Elliot's face. His words seemed honest enough and he seemed like a nice enough man before he hurt Olivia. And whenever she saw a man hit a woman before he would never apologize or say it was wrong to do much less say they were cowards. Until recently, when a police officer in school came and talked to her class, Sofia thought men were SUPPOSED to hit women, like it was common practice and the way most people worked.

Sofia swallowed hard before looking up at Olivia who nodded in agreement. "Elliot didn't hurt me. We were just pretending, baby, I promise."

Olivia gave her the most trust worthy smile she could manage and Sofia nodded before she turned back to Elliot. "You swear you were just pretending?"

"Absolutely."

While still looking skeptical Sofia nodded and went to turn back upstairs.

"Sofia, wait," Elliot called out. "There's something else we need to talk about."

"Elliot, I said no!" Olivia said. "She's gonna be hurt!"

"No she won't, Liv! It's not like I'm gonna volunteer him to babysit her!"

Sofia, meanwhile, had escaped back up the steps, not wanting to hear them arguing. She had to deal with enough of that in her real life…

"You won't have your gun, Elliot!" Olivia shot back, "you won't be able to stop him if he has a weapon!"

"Nothing is going to happen!" Elliot shouted as his hands curled into fists. He felt that familiar rage rise up in him that only seemed to rear its ugly head when he fought with Olivia. "What did you think was gonna happen when she agreed to do this? She was gonna sit in the house under armed guard at all times?"

"No but I didn't think my partner was gonna hand her off to a pedophile!" yelled Olivia as she took a step towards him letting him know she wasn't intimidated by his fury. "Why not use Dickie instead of Sofia then? Since you're so sure that nothing's gonna happen take Dickie instead!"

"He asked for Sofia!" Elliot snarled giving her that trademark 'if you weren't a woman I would beat the shit out of you!' look that so often appeared when he fought with her.

"Take both then," she challenged as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

When he didn't reply Olivia scoffed and shook her head in amazement. "You know it's dangerous but hey it's not your kid, why worry about it right? You're pathetic!"

"He's my son!" Elliot snarled but kept his voice low enough so that neither Sofia nor Dickie could hear him in their respective rooms upstairs. "Of course I'm gonna care more about him then some girl who the only reason she's even here with us is because of you!"

"What the hell does that mean?"

If Elliot had even thought about his next words for less than a microscopic second he never would have dreamed about telling her the cruelest thing he could think of at that moment. "It means that you can't even get pregnant, the adoption agency thinks' you'd be a shitty parent, Vivian came to her fucking senses and took Calvin away from you so you're trying to pull the same shit with Sofia that you pulled with Calvin! You're so fucking desperate to get your hands on a kid that you're willing to screw over REAL parents out of their children!"

Elliot's face fell into a state of horror as what he shouted at her hit him with the force of a concrete block. He saw tears sting in Olivia's eyes that she didn't even attempt to hide or rid herself of.

"Olivia-," Elliot began with a shaking voice.

"Fuck you," she whispered harshly, her words filled more pain and sorrow then Elliot ever heard come from his partner's mouth.

Olivia turned and stormed out the house, slamming the door behind her. She heard the faint familiar sound of fist hitting wall but she ignored it as she got in the car the FBI had given them, a dark red 2010 Mercedes Benz, thanked God that the keys were already in the ignition, and drove off.

Tries squealed and gravel flew as she got onto the main road and sped down the abandoned road. Wiping her tears pointlessly she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed the first number she thought of, desperate for the voice on the other end to pick up.

"Trevor Langan, attorney at law."

"You wanna get a drink?"

She couldn't handle getting drunk, not alone at least… She wanted to be alone more than anything in the entire world but that aching familiar voice screaming at her to remember her mother's drunken rampages was in the back of her mind and as much as she wanted to ignore it she couldn't.

"Olivia?" Trevor asked with an air of confusion. "I thought you were undercover?"

"I need a break," she told him a little shorter then she intended. "Same bar as Saturday?"

"Um… okay. Liv, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she snipped. "I'll see you in about five hours."

Without another word she hung up the phone and drove down the long stretch of highway…

…

Olivia was on her third drink by the time Trevor walked in the bar hours later.

Trevor easily spotted the detective; she was in the same spot as last time, the furthest in the corner away from the rest of the patrons of the bar, only this time was wasn't even attempting to appear interested in the NFL game playing on TV.

He swallowed hard as he looked over at her. Olivia was looking down at the long faded bar with a look on her face that he could only describe as grief-stricken. He could have sworn he saw the faint reminder of tears in her eyes. Someone had hurt her. Someone had hurt her bad…

He walked up to her and silently sat down beside her.

After several moments of silence she spoke. "Sorry for being a bitch on the phone earlier," she apologized still not looking up from the bar. "I just… I'm sorry."

"Its fine," Trevor assured her as he took off his silver framed glasses and put them in his pocket. "I was just worried about you. Are you okay?"

"I'm…" She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "God I can't even lie about being fine."

After another moment Olivia looked up at him and Trevor was astounded by what he saw. For the first time since he had met her she didn't have a look of fearlessness or determination burning in her eyes. She looked broken down, weak, defeated… like she wanted nothing more than to just give up with everything. "I'm not fine. I'm anything but fine, Trevor."

His gray green eyes shone with more concern then Olivia had ever seen the tall lawyer give before. "You wanna tell me what happened?"

Olivia took a long sip of her beer before she answered, unable to look in his eyes as he did. "I want… I just found out the thing I want the most in my life, something I've wanted for a very long time now, I can never have. I told Elliot about it and he… he told me that I didn't deserve what I wanted more than anything in the world and that I'd fuck it up if I ever got to have it…"

Trevor looked over her for a moment as her eyes swam with unfallen tears. "Olivia, look at me," he prompted faintly.

Olivia ignored his request and instead desperately wiped the tears from her eyes. "Olivia, please…" he pleaded softly.

Olivia finally heeded his words and lifted her head to look at him. Brown met green and he slowly reached up and pushed a stray lock of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek. "Whatever is going on between you and Stabler he sounds like an idiot. And for as long as I've known you you've never been one to back down and if you want something bad enough you WILL find a way to get it. I never took you as a person who gave up so easy. No matter what it is you want you'll find a way to get it and who ever or whatever is holding you back I know you can beat it."

Once again tears filled her eyes. She managed a small timid smile. "Thank you." She chuckled and looked down at the bar for a moment before she looked back up at him. "The past few days it's like you always know exactly what to say."

"What can I say I try," Trevor said with his own faint smile.

Olivia's smile grew and for a moment the two looked at one another and for a briefer moment some of the sting that came from Elliot's words subsided. She leaned in…

"Benson!"

Olivia snapped her head towards the voice that had called her name and groaned when she saw the last person on earth she wanted to see. Trevor turned as well and his eyes narrowed when the man who had called her stormed up to the pair.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Porter shouted as he got nearer to her ignoring the six foot five inches of muscles sitting beside her, his dark brown eyes full of irate anger. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"I'm sorry," Olivia apologized as she stood up from her bar stool. "But keep it down."

"Do you know what could have happened if someone saw you leave and followed you? You could blow this entire operation!" he yelled.

"No one followed me, I promise. Now will you please lower your voice?"

"No because you fucked this whole thing up just like you do everything else! Sealview, your brother, the eco terrorists! You don't even deserve to wear a fucking badge!"

"Alright I think you need to leave now," Trevor said as he stood up from his seat.

Porter turned around and glared furiously at Trevor. Only being two inches shorter than Trevor his impressive height did nothing to make the FBI agent stand down. "Oh fuck you!"

Porter turned back to Olivia who swallowed hard at the 'what did he just say to me?' look on Trevor's features. "You didn't even tell your partner where you were going, you haven't answered his calls… he actually called me because he was so damn worried! The only reason I found you is because you used to come here all the time when we were dating!"

Olivia ignored Trevor's wide eyed gaze and opened her mouth to speak but Porter cut her off. "Do you even care about the integrity of this investigation? Do you care that you put hundreds of innocent victims at risk! I know you're not a mother but don't you think you could care a little bit of other people's children!"

"Fuck you!" Olivia shouted all of her rage that had built up the last few days beginning to leak out from the vault she thought she had nailed shut.

Rage flashed in Porters eyes that made Olivia cower slightly. He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her towards him, making her wince in pain. "You do not speak to me like that," Porter snarled as his grip tightened.

Trevor grabbed Porter by the shoulder and whipped him around so painfully fast he released Olivia's wrist. Trevor brought his fist back and as hard as he could manage punched Porter square in the face.

Dean dropped like a light.

A mumbling silence erupted in the bar as they all turned towards the man who had thrown the punch, to the unconscious man on the floor, to the woman staring wide eyed at the man still standing.

Olivia came out of her daze and looked at Trevor who swallowed hard and looked up from an unconscious Porter to meet her eyes. Not wasting another second Olivia grabbed Trevor by the hand and the two raced from the bar.

The pair ran around the block, their hands firmly grasped around one another's until they reached Olivia's car. They didn't stop until they collapsed against the brilliantly shiny metal. For a moment neither said anything before they both looked towards one another and after a moment of silence the two burst out laughing.

Olivia wiped the tears from her eyes as she had to struggle to hold herself up using Trevor as a support.

Finally after they were both able to breathe Olivia shook her head, a beaming grin on her lips. "Oh god this is just perfect," Olivia laughed. "You just knocked out an FBI agent after I left my undercover stint. We're so screwed."

Trevor chuckled as he stood in front of her. "Well as long as the screwing is with you I'm perfectly okay with that."

Olivia's beam subsided into a flirtatious smirk. "Oh really?"

Trevor took a step towards her and wrapped his long well built arms around her waist and brought her closer. "Really."

"Well I gotta admit," Olivia said as she draped her arms around his neck. "Getting screwed with or by you doesn't sound all that bad either…"

"Oh really?" Trevor asked with a playful grin.

"Really," Olivia whispered softly as they both leaned in and captured each other's lips in a kiss.

Slow and timid at first, the kiss grew speedily. Trevor licked her lips and Olivia willingly opened her mouth moaning softly as his tongue feverishly ran over hers.

His hands came up and rested at the back of her neck, slowly stroking her soft brown locks of hair. He gently pushed her against the car as his lips reluctantly left hers and made their way down her jaw to the crook of her neck, his lips and tongue slowly licking and kissing the sensitive skin.

Olivia felt a familiar ache in between her legs and she tried to let Trevor know by rubbing up against him and she groaned softly when she felt the makings of a very large bulge in his suit pants.

His lips found hers again and his kisses slowed instead of increased in terms of passion.

Trevor pulled away from her, his eyes closed, hating the whine that escaped Olivia's mouth. "Not yet," he breathed as he rested his head against hers. "You'll regret it if we go any further tonight."

"No I won't," she whispered softly. She wanted him now. Badly. But she knew very, very, very, _very_ deep down he was right.

Trevor chuckled as he leisurely stroked her hair. He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips but pulled away before Olivia could respond with any degree of franticness.

"I gotta go," he told her as he wiled himself away from her touch. "And I don't want you to get in any more trouble then you already got yourself."

Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll call you," she told him. "And the moment I'm done with this we'll go on a real date I promise."

"I'm looking forward to it," he said with another smile that made Olivia weak in the knees.

He walked towards the driver's side of the car and opened it for her and Olivia laughed as she walked over to him and got in the car and looked up at him. "Thank you. You made this night a lot more bearable…"

"That's what I'm here for," he told her with a chuckle as he kneeled down so he was eye level with her. He gave her another kiss but once again pulled back before it became to passionate, not sure he would have the strength to deny her anymore tonight…

"Drive safe, Liv," Trevor said as he shut the door and stood up. With another smile to tide her over he walked away from the car.

Olivia watched him in the rear view mirror and sighed happily. God that man was amazing...

With another look at the lawyer she drove off…

…

"I'll take care of it!" Malcolm grumbled as he took another swig of beer looking over the file that had been faxed to him earlier. "No. No I promise they don't know a thing. Yes I'll take care of it! Good bye!"

Malcolm sighed as he threw the phone down in disgust onto the coffee table. His eyes lingered on the toy magazine that had just arrived in the mail today. It was the Christmas edition. Pages and pages, over three hundred, of adorable sexy little girls that he wanted to make all his own waiting to be looked at.

But instead he had to deal with this stupidity. He knew he should have just remained a soldier but no he accepted the job of being in charge of all the kids under thirteen with open arms. He got full time access with all of the girls he wanted no matter what time or place or how instead of being under the stupid ass restriction the other clients had.

But with that power came more responsibility then he wanted, and dealing with idiot cops who wanted to break up the operation was one of them…

Now he wish he had just stayed in the lower ranks and been done with it.

But, he thought as he closed his eyes and groaned, that little girl they had posing as their daughter; she was perfect. Exotic, young, thin, wide eyed and innocent… she was beautiful. What he wouldn't give for an hour or two alone with her. Sofia would be a fun little bitch to fuck…

Malcolm shook away the fantasy as he concentrated on the folder in front of him.

"Detective Elliot Stabler, 1st grade detective, Manhattan SVU," Malcolm read form the file in front of him, "alias; Craig Tearny. Detective Olivia Benson, 2nd grade detective, Manhattan SVU, alias Bailey Tearny."

Malcolm chuckled as he read over their respected files. Oh he would have a lot of fun with these two. A lot of fun…

Please Review


	10. Chapter 10

We own no one but my own people. Proudly co written by Bellatrix Wannabe89. Please be warned contains adult content read with caution.

The moonlight shone down brightly on the expensive house. With the thick undisturbed snow sparkling like diamonds under the light, both natural and artificial it looked almost like a Christmas Card. Olivia would have loved to stayed out here and look at the sight she never got to see in Manhattan but tonight was different.

Olivia sat motionless in the car biting her bottom lip, dread and panic filling her to the point where she almost didn't wanna leave the confines of the car. She took a deep breath and grabbed her purse and phone from the passenger side of the SUV, mentally preparing herself to feel Elliot wrath.

Finally she worked up the courage to go in and face him, deciding she would just lay her cards down and apologize but only after he apologized to her for his cruel words. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she got out the car and walked up to the path that lead to the door.

Noticing the lights were off she walked into the house and that Elliot wasn't in the living room she let out a sigh of relief. She still had several more minutes before she had to face him.

Olivia walked up the dark stairs and poked her head in on both bedrooms to check on the kids who where sound asleep. She smiled at Sofia who was curled up in the bed with a dark brown teddy bear held firmly in her grasp, her thick soft pink blanket on the floor next to her. Olivia walked in the room and picked up the blanket, tucking the young girl back in bed.

The detective leaned down and gently kissed Sofia on the top of her head. "Goodnight, Sofia," she whispered softly as she pushed back a piece of stray hair from her face.

"Goodnight, Mommy," Sofia muttered back, her eyes still closed and still half asleep. "Love you,"

Olivia stood up and all at once felt tears well in her eyes. Her lips trembled as she wiped away the unfallen tears. "I… I love you too, Sofia. Go back to sleep."

With several unintelligible words Sofia drifted back to sleep. Olivia swallowed hard and took a deep breath as she walked out of Sofia's room, gently shutting the door behind her.

Olivia quickly poked her head in on Dickie's room and couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her when Dickie tried, unsuccessfully, to hide the PSP he had been playing with.

"Hey, what's up?" Dickie asked causally as he shoved the game system under his pillow.

"The moon," she said with a smirk as she walked in his room and pulled the PSP out from under his pillow and set it on his bed stand. She leaned over and gave him a quick hug. "Good night and go to sleep," she told him as she ruffled his hair.

"Night, Liv," Dickie told her as she walked out of the room shutting off the light behind her. She had only taken a few steps when she heard the sounds of his game starting up.

Olivia rolled her eyes and couldn't help the smile that graced her lips as she decided to just walk away and pretend she didn't hear it. "Just like his father," she mused with a chuckle as she headed into her bedroom.

She turned on the light and narrowed her eyes. Elliot wasn't here either. Where the hell was he? She had seen his car in the driveway so he had to be here.

"The house is huge," she reminded herself, "he's around here somewhere."

With that thought comforting her Olivia turned towards the bathroom that was attached to their room and she could practically hear the shower calling her name. She disrobed and walked into the bathroom and turned on the taps. She stepped in and almost at once felt her entire body relax and she let out a sigh of relief as she grabbed the shampoo bottle.

As the warm water cascaded down her back Olivia laid her head against the tiles thoughts of the nights events ran through her mind

She could still taste Trevor's delectable taste, still feel his soft lips on hers. The smell of his expensive, subtle cologne filled her scenes and surrounded her, wrapping her in a blanket of warmth and comfort. She shifted her legs as she remembered the feel of his body pressed against hers.

Those enjoyable thoughts soon turned into the thoughts of dread and panic. Olivia realized not only had the case been jeopardized but the lives of her partner and the two innocent children with them were put in danger as well just because she had been angry at her partner. Her stomach began to twist and turn in knots. She had to talk to him…

Olivia quickly finished washing up and turned off the taps and grabbed a fluffy white towel from the linen closet and wrapped it around herself.

She walked out of the bathroom and sat in front of the mirror that was situated in the middle of her dresser. The light from the hallway spilled into the bedroom. Slow, soft footsteps filled the quiet room, she turned around and seen Elliot standing he walked over to her side.

"Hey, we need to talk," she began but her words were cut off when Elliot grabbed Olivias' arm and gripped it tight and pulled her up from the chair.

"Get off me!" shouted Olivia as she tried to wrench away from his grasp but his hold only tightened.

Olivia was standing her face was frozen in shock she had not expected this. His hands slipped under the towel and brushed up against her soft skin.

"I said get OFF!" she shouted as jerked away from his touch.

She tried to get away but he just kept on gripping her arm tighter. He pushed her against the wall and began to kiss her neck. Pinning her hands high above her head, Olivia's lip began to tremble.

Flashes of a makeshift bed in a dark basement flooded her mind and her panic mounted, the dark place she tried to forget raced to the fore front of her mind. With all her might and will she fought against his grip. She almost managed to get away but he held her there tighter.

"Let go of me!" she cried as tears flooded her eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Come on, don't be such a prude. It's not like there's cameras watching us or anything..." He told her as his lips curled angrily but his eyes were wide and full of alarm. He was trying to tell her something but she was too much in panic mode to fully understand.

He kicked her legs apart and moved even closer as she continued fighting but the more she fought the tighter he held on to her. He could feel a bulge growing in his slacks and Olivia could feel it to against her leg. She looked into his eyes as hers widened in terror.

Elliot clenched his eyes shut and Olivia could see him muttering something to himself. She heard only the last word of his incessant rambling.

"Eli … Eli... Eli…" he was mumbling to himself as he willed the growing hardness to leave.

"What are you doing?" Olivia begged her voice trembling as he pressed up against her once more only this time he was soft. "El-."

He crashed his lips against hers before she could finish. A tight lipped closed mouth kiss but a kiss all the same.

The adrenalin was pumping through her body along with the fear and anxiety. Taking a deep breath Olivia kicked him as hard as she could. He had sidestepped her at just the right moment so he ended up getting kicked in the thigh instead of in between his legs but it was still enough to make him loosen his grip on her. Olivia broke free and sprinted towards the door to make her escape.

He grabbed her just as she was near the door. Spinning her around he throw her on the bed and lay on top of her. His lips crashed down on her neck as he moved his hands down her body.

"No!" she screamed as she struggled against him. "Let go of me! Let GO of me!"

He gripped her hair tight and pulled her head the other way and his lips wandered down her silky smooth skin until they reached her ear.

"There's cameras everywhere and they record sound to," he whispered just low enough for her to barely hear. "The FBI didn't put them there, and Porter told me that Malcolm is a damn tech freak. He's watching us and listening to every word we say."

Olivia jerked her head towards him and narrowed her eyes in confusion. Elliot leaned back down so it would look like he was nuzzling her neck. "I'm sorry," he breathed and even Olivia had a hard time not believing him. "I just found the first one when you came in; I didn't have a chance to tell you, I went around and checked for more. There's one in Dickie's room and Sofia's. I don't know how long they've been there."

Olivia closed her eyes in defeat. This just made things a lot more complicated… If someone was watching them then they would need to be in 'character' all the time, with no breaks. Not even the tiniest slip up would be allowed like they had been allowing the children to get away with.

Like Dickie calling me Liv, Olivia mused with a groan as she shut her eyes in defeat. Even if they were planted shortly ago they still picked that up.

There had to be a way to explain that when Malcolm came by. She would HAVE to think of something…

"I'm gonna do something now that'll make you really pissed," Elliot continued to whisper, "please fight me…"

Olivia didn't even nod as his hand roughly went under her towel.

"Stop!" she screamed, as she struggled beneath him. "Don't do this, Please! Craig, don't!"

"Shut up, bitch," he snarled as his hand rose higher until it was at her centre.

"Get off me!" she screamed as her eyes filled with rage and panic. Even knowing it was all an act it still struck fear into the deepest parts of her. He held his hand an inch away from her and he looked down at her in disgust.

"You fucking nasty bitch!" he snarled. "You didn't tell me you were on the rag!"

Olivia looked at him in confusion before what he was doing sank in. He was giving himself a way out.

"I'm sorry," she spoke, her voice shaking, "It just came tonight."

"You're fucking disgusting!" Elliot grumbled as he pulled his hand out and pretended to wipe blood off on the mattress. "Get yourself cleaned up!"

Elliot stood up and grabbed Olivia by the wrist and yanked her from the bed over towards the bathroom. She stumbled but regained her footing and hurried to grab her sleeping clothes from the dresser before she rushed into the bathroom shutting the door behind her. A long shaky breath escaped her as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You're okay, you're okay," she told herself out loud but it did nothing for her shattered nerves. Olivia closed her eyes as she walked over to the medicine cabinet and grabbed a box of pads.

She normally never used those but she was not about to use a tampon when she didn't have to. She struggled not to look around for the camera she knew was in there and did her best to get dressed facing the wall with the towel covering the back part of her.

After she was done she walked back out into the bedroom where Elliot was already in bed under the covers.

"Turn the light off," he barked and Olivia immediately obliged. She crawled into bed and had to hide an eye roll when she noticed that Elliot was under the blanket but still on top of the sheet. He had just groped her while she was wearing nothing but a towel and he was worried about sleeping next to her…

"Good night," she told him as she set her head on her pillow.

"Whatever," he muttered as he closed his eyes but he slipped his hand underneath the thin white sheet and found hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, telling her that everything was going to be alright.

Olivia swallowed hard and forced a weak smile towards him as her eyes closed as well but not before she squeezed his hand back, telling him that she knew...

The next morning Sophia tugged at her hair as she stood in her bedroom waiting for Elliot to shout and tell her he was ready. She heard a soft knock at her door and her voice gently called out, 'come in.'

"Hey, sweetie!" Olivia greeted her with a smile as she opened the door and stepped in.

Sophia got off the bed and rushed over to her, the young girl beaming a smile up to her as her tiny arms wrapped around the detective.

"Can you do my hair please?" Sofia asked as she looked up at the older woman.

Olivia smiled proudly as she nodded. "Of course I can. Go get what you need," she said sitting down on the bed.

The girl rushed over and within a few seconds later with the desired objects in her hand. Olivia sat crossed legged and Sophia sat between them.

"You scared?" Olivia asked as she began to gently brush the long thick brown locks.

"A little," Sophia admitted timidly.

"Don't be. You'll be safe I promise" Olivia said began to braid her hair.

The young girl just sat quietly with her down as she stared at the soft white carpet beneath her feet. She was a lot more nervous than she had let on to Olivia but she had learned to hide her fear well. That was something her mother taught her from a young age. The young girl didn't want to let her new "mother" down and admit she was frightened of the upcoming events of the day. Olivia caught bad guys every day and she never got scared. What right did Sofia, who was only doing this for a short period of time, have to be scared.

Just as Olivia finished the angelic chimes of the doorbell echoed in the house. Olivia looked at her watch and nodded towards Sofia. She handed the young girl a warm fluffy sweater that was much more bulkier then Olivia would have normally chosen. With one finale gentle squeeze of her hand, they both left the room and made their way down stairs to meet the man at the door.

Malcolm watched as Olivia descended down the stairs with a tight protective grasp on Sofia dressed in a a smart white jumpsuit. Her outfit suited her complexion perfectly and showed off her curves in all the right places.

He looked her up and down with a smirk with no desire to hide his harassing glances. He wasn't into women his own age but he knew she would be able to pop out beautiful kids who would keep him highly amused and his boss in business.

"Hello, Malcolm," Olivia greeted with a kind smile.

"Baillie," he said with a curt nod. "I see you're in a much better mood today."

Olivia simply smiled at him hiding her disgust when he turned to Sofia.

Malcolm gave her a seemingly warm smile but Olivia also saw a lust in his eyes that made her blood boil. "Good morning, McKenzie. Do you remember me?"

Sofia nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Ready!" called Elliot sharply as he made his way down the stairs wearing a dark blue shirt and black pants.

"Yes, Daddy" Sofia replied.

Malcolm gave Elliot a nod, a silent 'good job', meaning to compliment him on the control and discipline his daughter now showed from the last time she was in their company. Shaking his head Elliot pulled on his jacket, threw Sofia's coat towards Olivia, and walked towards the door.

Olivia helped Sofia put on her coat bent down to the young girls height and pulled her hair out of her coat and gave her a smile.

"Be good sweetie," Olivia said as she wrapped her arms around her.

"I will, Mom" Sofia replied as she hugged the detective back.

"Move it!" Elliot shouted towards Sofia as he yanked her awake from Olivia's grip.

As they walked down the path that led from the undercover house to Malcolm's, Sofia Looked back towards the woman who stood at the front door who gave her a small reassuring nod of her head.

Sophia slipped her hand into Elliot's larger hard to give her a little comfort but as soon as she did he jerked his hand away from hers and wiped it on his pants as if her hand was filthy.

The young girl dropped her head to the ground and as soon as he had wrenched his hand away from hers, Elliot was fighting with himself and every fiber of his being not to pick her up and give her the hug he wanted to and that would make her feel safe, what he knew she needed.

Malcolm could not take his eyes off the young girl. She was perfect for him. Innocent, pure, exotic looking…. He closed his eyes for a second, imagining what he would do with her. All he had to do was get her alone and Elliot was playing his part so well that Malcolm just for a fraction of a second forgot the man standing beside him was a cop and for a moment he thought he could get his wish. The men walked ahead of Sofia and began to talk.

"Nice to see you sorted out that little problem from the other night," Malcolm spoke with a smug condescending grin.

"Yeah I must say I'm sorry about that," Elliot said with a half hearted laugh.

"Quite alright, I completely understand!" Malcolm said placing his hand on Elliot's shoulder.

Elliot managed to contain his disgust and his urge to squirm out of his touch.

"You struck gold with that wife of yours. She's gorgeous." Malcolm said putting his plan into action.

"Like I said if she wasn't trained to get on her knees and her back whenever I want her to I wouldn't even bother with her," Elliot scoffed.

"Your children are beautiful as well. Your girl is definitely something special," he said turning around to her and let his eyes rake her up and down for a brief moment before he turned back to Elliot who was fighting against his instinct to beat the ever loving piss out of the man standing beside him.

"Neither of them are that special to me. Hell I wish the bitch had gotten rid of both of them before she even had the little brats." Elliot spat. "They're probably not even mine.

Malcolm nodded in understanding, once again ignoring the fact he had just cruelly insulted both his children and wife. "So the children, you would say, take after their mother's side in looks?"

Elliot nodded. "Definitely. McKenzie more so than Nick but yeah both get a lot of their looks from her. Hell as much as I hate admitting it she does make pretty good looking kids."

Elliot could see Malcolm's excitement grow tenfold and once more Elliot was forced to hide his rage, knowing exactly what he was getting excited about…

The trio turned the corner and they walked up to the house, or mansion would almost be more accurate in terms of size and grandness. The house they were staying in was small in comparison to this one. Elliot noticed the key pad lock on the large heavy gate. The garden was like a mini central park well kept and little grey statues that had a thick blanket of blinding white snow on top them where scattered around.

As they walked towards the door it swung open before any of them had touched it. A tall sharp dressed man stood back away from the door, his eyes, that almost seemed to be filled with sorrow, was fixed on Sofia

"Thank you, Jack," Malcolm greeted him as he handed him his coat.

The man answered with a curt nod.

"Set up the game room and get our guests food and drinks."

Without hesitation the man hurried down the hallway and did as he was asked.

"Game room?" Elliot asked as he narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I thought you said we were going to play golf at your country club?"

Malcolm narrowed his eyes in confusion before he laughed. "Oh god I'm sorry. I actually have my own private little Winter country club right in the house. I apologize."

"No harm taken," Elliot said with a smile although he felt a stab of fear. If they had gone to an actual country club there would be at least a few other people there. Now they were all alone in his huge mansion of a house with no one besides the butler.

Just then a young female walked through one of the oak wood doors holding a can of soda. Her hair was black as the night sky with caramel coloured skin that commented the white shorts and tank top she was wearing despite the bitter December weather outside and teeth that sparkled.

"Hun, come over here," Jack called out to the girl and she walked over to the small group.

"Craig, Mackenzie; this is Jack's daughter Erica," Malcolm smiled brightly.

"Very nice to meet you," the girl greeted with a bright smile as she walked over to Malcolm's side.

Malcolm's arm snaked around the girl's hips and Elliot could feel his blood boil but knew he had to keep calm and not do anything at that moment in time. The young girl knew exactly what that meant she made her excuse and left the trio.

Sofia watched the girl as she walked up the marble staircase and headed into a room. Sofia was slightly disheartened that the girl walked away and left her alone. The three of them walked into the into the games room where a massive sized flat screen that took up half the wall stood proudly. A beautiful golfing landscape was laid out before them with various numbers and settings all along the bottom of the colossal screen.

"Virtual golf," Jack explained as he handed Elliot a set of clubs. "Really works to improve your game."

"Nice," Elliot said with a nod.

Malcolm smiled at Elliot's compliment and turned towards Jack who had just put a bottle of expensive brandy and two glasses down on one of the stands. "Jack go with McKenzie and get her some good snacks and something to drink."

Elliot looked around and wondered what was going on. When Jack and Sofia left Malcolm walked over to him.

"Craig, you seem like a damn good business man. I think I may have a job for you," he mused.

"What's that?" Elliot asked sceptically.

"Oh nothing illegal," Malcolm promised with a smile. "The thing is I'm in business with some very powerful people." Malcolm began.

"What can I do for you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're a retailer and I, well we, need a house to store our product," he said vaguely.

"What kind of product?" Elliot asked as his heart began racing.

"I'm in the process of starting a new terminal children's hospital; you know something less imposing then a regular hospital that gives the kids more of a 'homey' kind of feeling, you know?"

Elliot felt his rage soar. He knew just what he was going to use that hose for and he fumed when he heard this monster lying not just about why he wanted the house, but the fact he was using dying children as a cover …

But once more, Elliot expertly hid his feelings. "That sounds amazing, good for you. Just what do you have in mind?" Elliot asked.

"Something big and just out of the way, you know." Malcolm told him.

"I think I may have something that will satisfy your needs" Elliot said with a smile.

"We have a deal then" Malcolm smiled back as he held out his hand. Feeling as though he was making a deal with the devil himself Elliot reached out and also shook the man's hand…

…

After about an hour of sitting quietly watching the men playing golf Sofia walked up and tugged on Elliot's shirt.

"What?" he spoke harshly as he watched Malcolm sink his birdie.

"Daddy, can I go play with Erica please?" the young girl asked.

Elliot looked over to Malcolm seeking his permission. With a curt nod to say that it was okay Sofia left the room and walked giant marble staircase that Erica walked up before. When she was upstairs and had successfully navigated the right door she gently knocked on the door that she had seen Erica go into.

"Come in," the young girls voice rang out.

Sofia walked into the room and gasped at the room that belonged to the young girl. A huge massive queen bed with light pink silk bedding and canopy stood against the far wall with a brilliantly white carpet that was like feathers under Sofia's feet. The closet was opened and was full of the most expensive luxurious clothes a girl her age own and seemed to stretch on forever. All around the room was the very best toys and most expensive gadgets someone could buy now a days but nearly everything looked untouched and unplayed with, most of it still being in the original packaging.

Sofia had it very good at her mother's house, with expensive toys and clothes filling up her room, but that looked like the room of a child on welfare compared to this girls vast collection of things…

When she heard the door open Erica placed her book on her lap and looked over at the timid child.

"Hi," Erica greeted her with a kind smile.

"Hi," Sofia said with a shy smile. "I got bored downstairs and my dad said I could come up and play with you."

"That's fine," Erica said as she put down the book and walked over to her.

"You got a lot of nice stuff," Sofia said in awe as she looked around the room that seemed to come straight from a picture in a magazine. She walked over to the desk and picked up one of the more expensive China dolls to examine it but it slipped through her fingers and broke.

"I'm sorry!" Sofia said as she started to clean up the glass.

"Its fine, don't worry about it," Erica reassured her with a smile, uncaring that a doll that had cost well over a thousand dollars had just been smashed.

Sofia returned a timid grin and looked around the room and her eyes fell on an old worn out stuffed doll that looked like it belonged in a five year olds room instead of someone Erica's age; an older mature eleven.

The doll looked so out of place in the room full of expensive and beautiful toys Sofia couldn't help but walk over and pick it up. She had just begun to examine it when Erica's voice rang out with a frightening "don't!"

Sofia stood still as Erica raced over to her and grabbed the doll from her hand.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Erica screamed as she held the doll close to her chest. "DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH THAT, ITS MINE! NO ONE CAN EVER TOUCH HER!"

"I'm sorry, I only wanted to play with you!" Sofia spoke timidly, frightened of the sudden change of attitude of Erica.

"GET OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE" Erica shouted as she pushed Sofia out the door making her fall and smack her head against the carpet.

Hearing the commotion the men rushed upstairs and seen what was happening. They found Sofia getting up from the ground, a small cut on her head and blood slowly seeping out of the wound.

"Erica!" Malcolm bellowed from the top of the staircase.

Seeing Elliot Sofia ran towards him. Instead it was Malcolm who was the first to reach her. He grabbed Sofia's head and jerked it back to expect the wound that the older girl had made.

"This better not scar, young lady!" he shouted at Erica who was frozen in fear, clutching the doll tightly in front of her as if the ragged toy could protect her.

An insufferable rage filled Elliot to the very brink. His hands shook as he stormed over to the pair and yanked Sofia from his grasp. For a moment he forgot he was undercover and wanted nothing more than to hit Malcolm as hard as he possibly could. Instead he forced himself to turn towards Sofia, his hands still shaking. He grabbed her by the head and a hundred times gentler the Malcolm tilted her head to look at the wound. He bent down so to those watching it looked like he was examining it closer.

"You alright?" Elliot asked so softly even Sofia had difficulty hearing him.

She sniffed and gave the faintest nod of her head and Elliot faintly kissed the cut before he pushed her away. "You're fine, stop bitching," he told her as he slipped back into undercover mode.

Meanwhile Malcolm had cornered Erica against the wall right outside her room.

"She... She touched Bella," Erica told him in a small frightened voice.

"Not that stupid ugly doll again!" Malcolm spat.

Tear flooded the young girl's eyes. "She's special to me."

Forgetting that Sofia and Elliot where standing there he grabbed the girl by the neck and slammed her against the wall. His hand slipped up her shirt and as Erica began to tremble Malcolm smirked as he looked down at her. As he stood Malcolm's body was blocking Elliot's full view of what he was actually doing to the young girl.

"Shut your mouth, bitch!" he spat in her ear.

"My kid's fine, man, leave her alone," Elliot said as he walked over to them.

Malcolm reluctantly let go of his possession and walked back over to him. As he did Elliot saw Erica fix her top and gently rub her chest as if something or someone had just hurt her there and the detective had a fair idea of what had just happened right in front of his eyes.

Malcolm bent down and picked up the doll, marched down the stairs with Erica following, panic and fear heavy in the girl's eyes and throw the doll in the trash bin. Jack had to hold Erica back as she fought with all her might to get her beloved doll back out of the trash with Elliot and Sofia watching, their minds reeling with confusion.

"NO!" Erica screamed as tears flooded down her face. "Please give her back! Please give her back!"

"I'm sick of you hanging onto this stupid thing!" Malcolm shouted.

"My daddy gave it to me!" she sobbed frantically.

"Your point?" Malcolm sneered.

"I'll do whatever you want!" she told him desperately. "I'll do it just the way you like, please!"

"Oh I know you will," Malcolm snarled as he stormed over to her and gripped her by the hair and pulled her from Jack's grasp.

He bent down so he was right next to her neck, once again blocking her body from Elliot's view. He kissed the crook of her neck and gently nipped the skin. "And if you do it good enough I'll buy you a new toy," he whispered in her ear.

Erica sobbed as she fell to her knees and Malcolm reluctantly took a step back from her. He turned towards Sofia and Elliot who was looking very confused at the conversation they had just listened to.

"I'm sorry I have to cut this short," Malcolm apologized, "but I have to deal with her."

Elliot looked over at a still sobbing Erica and he felt irreversible sorrow for the girl as it finally clicked. Jack wasn't Erica's father. She had been kidnapped by the group Malcolm worked for and that doll must have been the only thing she had left from her real father…

Elliot swallowed hard as he turned to Malcolm and nodded, forcing a smile onto his lips. "It's fine," he told him as he walked over to him and clapped him on the back and began to lead him away. "McKenzie we're leaving!" he barked at the girl but not before he looked back and nodded towards the doll in the trash.

Sofia knew at once what he meant and went over and rescued the doll from the trash. She half considered giving it back to Erica now, who was too busy sobbing on the floor with Jack trying in vain to console her.

Jack looked up at her as Sofia took a step towards them and gave a quick shake of his head as he got up and walked over to her. "Bring it home with you," he muttered just soft enough so she could hear him. "Give it back to her later when he forgets about it."

Sofia nodded and without another word to either of them slipped the doll under her bulky sweater and hurried after Elliot...

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	11. Chapter 11

We own no one but our own people. Proudly Co-Written by Bellatrix Wannabe 89

Quickly walking down the same grand path they had walked up only a few hours ago, Elliot made Sofia take steps ahead of him with his eyes not moving from her as the young girl kept glancing back towards the house they had just left. They headed along the road, the air cold and crisp nipping their exposed skin.

Elliot looked down at the girl and walked nearer to her and pulled the collar of her coat up around her neck to stop the chill. As they turned the corner to the home they now occupied they saw smoke rising from the red brick chimney. Elliot would have strongly considered calling this place picturesquely gorgeous if he was living in it of his own free will. But as it stood; his whole reason for being here was so underhandedly vile and revolting even the beauty of their dwelling seemed to be perverted from the duties he was being forced to do as well as the depraved actions of them men around them.

Elliot didn't dwell on that thought long as he and Sofia walked into the house. It was completely empty and a deathly silence filled the air. The pair exchange worried looks and walked into the kitchen expecting to find Olivia pretending to cook to appease the man watching them.

They walked by the kitchen window and something drew Elliot's eyes towards the little shed that stood alone down at the bottom of the garden. A tiny burst of light was leaking through the stained and dirty window of the shack.

Elliot swallowed hard as he stared out towards the little wooden shed. He had no idea who, or what, was in their or who had turned on the light and his heart raced. He squinted his eyes as she saw the faint shapes in the shed move about. He stared hard for several more moments before a breath of relief left him. Olivia was in their laughing at something Dickie, who had a beaming smile on his face, had just said as he waved his hands animatedly in the air.

The thought that he still had to remain 'in character; forcibly crept back up on him. Elliot turned towards Sofia and grabbed her by her wrist. "Let's go," Elliot snarled as he half dragged Sofia out to the shed. As they reached it Elliot slammed open the door making both his son and Olivia jump a foot in the air.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" barked Elliot as he turned from Olivia to Dickie.

"Elliot, relax," Olivia spoke softly. Elliot's jaw dropped for a long moment. She had just seriously broken character. They were screwed…

Upon seeing his stunned reaction Olivia told him to relax and also that; "There's no cameras in here, I double checked. This place is safe. We don't have to be in character in here."

At hearing the news she no longer had to stay in character; Sofia bust through the door and wrapped her arms tightly around Olivia's waist and began to sob on her shoulder. Olivia ran her hand through the young girl's hair and hugged her back just as tight while looking at Elliot for an explanation.

"Malcolm has a little girl named Erica living with her. She was dressed in the same clothes the others were found in." Elliot walked over and gently took the doll from Sofia's grasp and showed it to Olivia. "Erica seemed very attached to it and he threw it in the trash after the girls had a little accident."

"What accident?" Olivia demanded not even trying to hide her contempt from Elliot. She knew something bad was going to happen if Elliot took her there alone.

"I don't know I wasn't watching her when it happened," Elliot admitted.

"You weren't watching her?"

"I wanted to go play with Erica!" Sofia cried against Olivia shoulder. "I- I touched the doll and she pushed me! I hate this place! I wanna go home!"

"Baby, you can't. Not yet. You gotta wait a few more days."

Sofia sobbed as she shook her head. "I don't wanna be McKenzie anymore!"

Olivia felt tears well in her eyes as she rested her head on Sofia's shoulder. She hated how this little girl who meant the world to her was suffering so badly when all she wanted was the one thing Olivia couldn't give her. "It's just a little while longer, baby. I know you miss your mommy and your home but it'll just be a few days longer. Do you trust me?"

Sofia sniffed and nodded as she pulled away from Olivia's touch and wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. Sofia looked down at eh plank wood boards before her

"Look, why don't you and Dickie go build a snowman?" Elliot offered. "Just stay where we can see you."

The two kids, knowing they were being kicked out of the safe zone, nodded and left the tiny shack shutting the door behind them.

Once they were in Private Elliot sat down and shook his head. "I think this is a lot bigger than we thought. We need to pull out."

"We can handle it" Olivia protested.

"We can but the kids can't. We need to get them out," Elliot said this time in a more firm and authoritative tone.

Olivia stared at him for several long seconds and he looked down at the ground as if he was incredibly ashamed of himself. Her voice was nothing but a soft whisper. "What happened in the house?"

Elliot took a shuddering breath and looked up at her and she struggled to hold in her shock. She never saw Elliot look so lost in their thirteen years together.

"She got that doll from her father. Her REAL father, I know she did. She was kidnapped by his group and somehow she managed to hang on to it for however long she's been gone. When Malcolm got pissed at Erica he chucked it in the trash. Her one reminder from home and he threw it away like it was nothing…"

Olivia shook her head. She knew there was no way Elliot would be this upset over a doll. That would have made him pissed off and angry but something had happened to make him want to get the kids out and to make him look so miserable and that made Sofia break down like she had. "That's sad and I'm glad you rescued it but that's not all that happened." Olivia's voice softened considerably. Talk to me, Elliot. What's going on?"

Elliot took a long pause and Olivia could have sworn she saw a tear in the corner of his eye but it was gone just as quick as it had came. "She's… she's his own personal girl, Liv. He probably rapes that little girl every day and then rewards her with toys and games and clothes that she hates. He treats her like she's some kind of 'pet'," he spat. "Plus he had no qualms about abusing her in front of me and Sofia, I don't even wanna think about what he does when they're alone." He took a long shuddering breath. "I can't stand by and do nothing again and I don't want Dickie OR Sofia getting hurt. You were right. This is way too dangerous for them."

Olivia sighed as she looked out the tiny dirty window where Dickie was trying to encourage the young girl to help build their snowman but all she was doing was sitting on the edge of the concrete back porch sitting with her her head resting in her knees. The moonlight that was beginning to fill the night sky showed the silent tears that were making their way down Sofia's face. Olivia looked back towards Elliot and swallowed her own tears away.

"What did Malcolm to do to the girl?" asked Olivia softly.

"He grabbed her by the throat and threw her against the wall then pushed his hand up her shirt. Then when she was begging him not to throw away her doll he pulled her hair and kissed her neck."

Olivia shuddered in disgust. She wasn't sure if she could have contained herself if she had saw Malcolm being cruel to an innocent child. She wasn't even sure how Elliot had managed not to rip his head off… Now that she thought about it… maybe getting the kids out was a good idea. It was far too dangerous for them…

Olivia took a deep breath she asked her next question. She knew his answer could either be grounds to leave or proof they needed the kids to stay and she wasn't sure what she wanted his answer to be. "Do you think we're making any headway with Malcolm?"

Elliot nodded and Olivia held back a sigh. "He wants me to find him an out of the way house. He told me it's for a children's hospital he's building but he told me it's for 'holding supplies'."

"The children."

Elliot nodded before he continued. "I'm gonna get Porter to get me a house I can show them and maybe he'll trust me enough to let me in on it."

Olivia sighed and ran a hand through her hair; a look of sorrow on her features. "Guess they're staying…"

Without another word she got up from the warm comfortable and safe shack and went outside to bring the kids inside. Elliot hung his head in shame before he stood up. He took a deep breath, prepared himself for acting like a man he normally would have spit on in the street, and followed her inside.

…

Just like how the house was in the beginning the day, Fin and Munch's beginning was as well and it began with an autopsy of a week old infant…

"Please tell us you got something?" Fin asked Melinda as he and Munch walked into the morgue.

"Still waiting on some of the results on the prints but what I can tell you is that the latest infant, the one with the marks around her neck, died three weeks ago. A tumor was pressing up against her spinal cord and severed it from her brain. She would have been paralyzed from the neck down her whole life straight from birth."

Fin nodded and nodded towards the rest of the infants lying on tables around the morgue. "What's the story with the rest of them?"

"Thirteen had Down syndrome and seven had FAS. Those twenty were strangled just like the paraplegic, Twenty seven died from SIDS and twelve were HIV positive and the HIV infected children were fed large amounts of cough syrup until they fell asleep and never woke up. But eight of them never even drew breath."

"Still born," Fin breathed.

Melinda confirmed his spoken thought with a nod as she handed them each stacks of brown folders and sighed. "I wish I could give you more but right now that's all I have."

"Thanks Melinda, just call us when you get more," Fin told her.

"Of course I will. I should have more in a few hours."

"Thanks Melinda, that would be great," Munch said with a curt nod.

Warner looked down at the infant for a long moment before she looked back up at the two detectives. "Make sure you get this guy…"

"We will," Fin promised. "Whoever this psycho is, I promise you he'll pay…"

With that both men left and went back upstairs and headed to their desks.

Fin looked through the file to see if anything jumped out at him, but no matter how hard he looked nothing did. It was like the answer he need was staring him right in the face and he was still missing it. He knew that an answer would need to be found soon before it was too late and time ran out for another helpless child…

Munch looked up from his own half of the stack and cleared his throat loudly. Fin looked up at him and Munch nodded towards the door. Fin turned and saw Carla, wearing a simple pair of dark jeans and a light brown suede coat with brown boots, smiling timidly at him.

Fin got up from his desk and walked over to her. "Hey," she breathed nervously as her hands twiddled together. "Um, I was wondering if I could talk to you. If you're busy that's okay! Or if you don't want to that's okay to!" she added quickly as if she was afraid he would think of her of some desperate pushy woman because she wanted to talk to him.

Fin nodded and led her into the file room where he gently shut the door behind him.

Carla took a deep breath and muttered several words in Spanish before she turned and faced Fin. "Okay I'm sorry for barging in here like this but, I- I just wanted to know what… what that night was."

"It's whatever you want it to be, Girl," Fin told her as he wrapped his arms around Carla's slender waist and pulled her closer to him. "I want it to be the start of something amazing but it's up to you."

Carla breathed a sigh of relief that Fin chuckled at. He leaned down and kissed her lips softly. She draped her arms around his neck and increased the feverishness of the kiss. Fin groaned as he pulled away from her intoxicating touch. "I gotta get back to work."

Carla stuck out her lip in a pout as she pressed up against him. "Really? You can't stay away for ten minutes?"

"I wish I could but I really can't. We got a huge case and I need to focus on it. I'm sorry, Baby."

Carla nodded and took a step away from him. "Its fine I understand," she said with a sympathetic smile. "I'll see you… when you have a chance?"

Fin bit his bottom lip as he took her in his arms once more. "How about tonight?" he offered. "I'll pick you up around eight?"

A beaming grin overtook her face as she nodded. "I'd like that."

Fin chuckled at her timid smile and kissed her again. They pulled apart and Fin opened the door and the two made their way towards the exit. "I'll call you," Fin whispered before he gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"I look forward to it," she answered with a seductive smirk and wink. Fin watched, his eyes glued to her tight ass the whole way, as she walked away until the door to the stairs shut behind her.

He shook his head before he headed back to his desk where Munch was giving him an all knowing 'I knew it' smirk.

"I'm gonna be your best man right?" the older detective asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Shut up, dumb ass," Fin told him as he picked up the file he had been looking at beforehand, only this time he had a tiny smile on his face as he read…

…

…

Malcolm paced his large study with a brandy in hand, his knuckles blood stained and white. He didn't want to call them but he had to let them they were running out of time. They had to move fast and the second in command was adamant about getting the female detective. Malcolm didn't understand what was so special about her but he knew that only the boss's right hand man had a raging hard on foe her since the moment they discovered she was gonna be investigating them…

Downing his brandy to steady his nerves Malcolm picked up his cell phone and called the second in command. He wanted to live with his mistake and that was more of a guarantee with him than the boss…

"I told you not to call me on this number," the voice answered sharply.

Taking a deep breath Malcolm spoke. "We need to move faster than we originally planned."

"What the hell did you do?" he barked and Malcolm flinched.

"They saw me grab Erica. They're gonna want to get the kids out of there and fast…"

"You stupid idiot!" the man roared. "You couldn't control yourself until they fucking left?"

A shiver ran down Malcolm's spine. Only two people made him like this and he was going to have to pay somehow and it wasn't going to be good. He had had seen what they were capable of and he wasn't ready to face it…. The man he was talking to was somewhat worse than the boss even. He was in charge of the older girls and had arranged the pregnancies and even the deaths of anyone over the age of 20 and he wouldn't hesitate to kill Malcolm in a second if he thought Malcolm wasn't doing his job right…

"I- I'm sorry. Wha- what do you want me to do?" Malcolm asked, his voice trembling.

"Just don't anything I'll sort it out!"

With a click the other man hung up. Malcolm stood shivering in his study for a long moment before he swallowed his nerves and poured himself another glass of Brandy. He downed that just as fast and took a deep shuddering breath before he cleared his throat and left the room.

He made his way up to Erica's room and opened the door. Erica was curled under the covers shivering, the clothes he had ripped off her still in a pile on the ground next to the bed. She was mumbling low to herself and he could only make out the name of that stupid doll's she managed to hold onto since she was put to work name. A large black and blue bruise stood out clearly against her light brown skin.

Malcolm rolled his eyes. If he had been in charge when Erica came in he would have ripped it from her and burned it the moment he set eyes on it. But the previous man in charge of his age group had been far too much of a softie. The man had actually cared about the girls to the point it was hindering profits. So when they 'retired him' Malcolm had been offered the job and he accepted it with a beaming grin on his face. The top boss told him he could have one girl for his own personal use free of charge. No one else besides Malcolm could touch her or look at her and only if Malcolm gave her back would she ever be put back to work.

She would live with him and it would be up to him to feed her and house her. Malcolm took less than a heartbeat to choose the girl he wanted.

Erica, who had only been working there for a month, was six years old when he chose her… It had been heaven for him ever since.

He walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed and looked over to her. "You know why you were punished right?" His voice was kind and considerate as his hand reached over and moved her hair from her face.

Erica wordlessly nodded as she sniffed and looked up at him. Her voice was nothing more than a soft whimper. "Can I please have my doll back?"

"No, Erica. It's time you let go of that. You have so many other nice toys to play with. Toy's you earned…"

Erica's lip trembled and Malcolm leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. "My daddy gave it to me," she told him as Malcolm's lips brushed against the bruise he had given her.

"I know that," Malcolm muttered as he kissed the crook of her neck, giving the skin sensual nips and licks. "But you're never going to see your daddy again and it's time you forgot about him."

Erica bowed her head as Malcolm lifted the covers and slowly climbed on top of the girl. He leaned down and gingerly bit her ear lobe. "Want me to make you feel better?" he whispered softly.

Erica, who knew the answer she wanted to scream every time Malcolm 'made her feel better' would just earn her a beating, instead nodded yes and Malcolm smiled as he kissed her behind the ear, slowly moving down her jaw, her lips, her neck…

Erica closed her eyes and prayed she was someplace, anyplace else other then here as Malcolm's kisses moved even lower under the blanket.

When he reached his intended target she let out a sob that Malcolm, as always, ignored. She wanted nothing more than to die…

Please review


	12. Chapter 12

We own no one but our own people. Proudly Co-Written with Bellatrix Wannabe 89

Trevor Langan sat alone in his office looking over Carla's case file. From what he gathered from the material in the manila folder in front of him this would be an open and shut case, fifteen minutes tops. Trevor almost felt bad for the poor public defender that would end up on Samuel's pitifully weak line of defence. It was clear that Carla loved their daughter and cared for Sofia far more then Samuel who merely seemed to get his small family hurt over and over and not learn his lesson or merely didn't care. The custody battle would be a mere ten minutes out of his day, Trevor thought to himself with a smug grin.

He looked up at the clock mounted on the wall behind him and groaned as he read the late time of 2:30 AM. Rubbing his eyes in preparation for the long ride home he gathered his things in his leather briefcase and put on his tan trench coat over his expensive suit jacket. Making sure he was the last one to leave the building as was customary every night, he left the tall building and headed out to the parking garage where his silver Mercedes was the only car left in the lot.

He heard footsteps fall in place behind him. At first he thought nothing of it but when they grew in loudness as well as number he stopped cold, his hand firmly grasped around his car keys. Trevor turned around and saw 5 well built masked men who made professional boxers seem small in comparison to size.

One of them went to grab him and Trevor swung the briefcase as hard as he could against the man's head. The first one bent over with loud grunt, holding his head in pain. The lawyer went to swing the makeshift weapon again but another man caught it and wrenched it from his grasp and flung it across the garage. With a loud yell Trevor threw his fist towards the man who had taken his briefcase and managed to hit him square in the jaw with a sickening crack. The second man stumbled for a moment but that only seemed to infuriate him rather than stop him.

The three remaining men soon realized this 'white collar rich pretty boy lawyer', as their boss had described to them, had been severely underestimated. They all rushed in at once and Trevor struggled to hold his own against the four men and for a while it appeared he had the upper hand but too soon the unfair fight became too much for him and hit after hit, kick after kick, punch after punch soon weakened him to the point of almost no return. One of the men hit him hard in the back of the head and with a heavy groan he fell towards the ground and darkness took over.

…

Elliot stood in the living room of the new house the FBI had given him to show off to Malcolm and where hopefully he could make a deal with him that would put an end to all of this. Nervously he watched the second hand on his watch move painfully slow as he tapped his foot impatiently as he struggled to calm his nerves. Malcolm was supposed to arrive thirty minutes ago and hadn't left any messages or texts saying he would be late. What the hell had happened to him?

Elliot groaned as he ran his hands over his face as the minutes slowly ticked by. He was going out of his mind with worry and every moment he wasn't here was another minute that bastard could be hurting Erica or another little girl.

Finally, forty five minutes after the time Malcolm had agreed to meet him, a large dark sedan pulled into the driveway. Recognizing it as one of the vast collection that belonged to Malcolm Elliot slipped into character, grabbed his leather case full of the housing information, and headed out to meet him.

"Afternoon, Craig!" Malcolm greeted him with a friendly smile as he shut the door behind him.

"How you doing, Malcolm?" Elliot responded with his own smile as the two men shook one another's hands. "You're a little late, is everything okay?"

"Yeah yes, I got caught up at the hospital," he explained. "Some bitch on the rag came in beat to hell and I had to deal with the cops. I feel bad for the husband though. She doesn't give him any for three months, he goes and gets a piece of tail, and then she has the nerve to yell at him much less get pissed with the guy smacks her to shut her up about it?"

Elliot shook his head in disgust as if the idea of a man getting in trouble for hitting a woman was revolting. "Poor dumb bastard. I miss the old days when the laws actually encouraged putting a woman in her place and the public wasn't afraid to admit the truth that it was her fault. Now a day you give a bitch a dirty look and you're locked up for ten years."

Malcolm nodded in agreement. "Ain't that he truth." He clapped Elliot on the shoulder before he looked towards the house and let out a low whistle as his eyes feasted on the house.

It was set far back in the wood line away from the road and had that rustic country look so many other houses around here had. It had impeccable white siding and the brown shingled roof coated with a thick blanket of snow. The front door had a large archway leading into the house while there were four stories of archway windows with white silk curtains hanging elegantly in front of each one.

Elliot glanced over at Malcolm who was practically drooling over the perfection that was in front of him. "You like?" Elliot asked with a smug grin plastered on his face.

"It's perfect, "Malcolm breathed, momentarily forgetting that the man standing beside him wasn't actually selling him the house. He turned towards Elliot and his smile widened. "It's beautiful. It's just what we're looking for."

"Let's go inside and take a look shall we?" Elliot suggested with a clap on Malcolm's shoulder he led the way inside.

The two men walked inside and once again Malcolm struggled to pretend he was just as interested in the inside as he was the out. He found what he needed. Lots of rooms, far away from praying eyes, near the wood line so if needs be the men in charge could make a quick escape, three bathrooms… That was all that Malcolm was looking for so when Elliot droned on and on about the wood paneling, the history of the home, the way the angles of the windows appeared to make the room bigger, plus whatever else the FBI had told him to say and what he had remembered his own realtor telling him when he and Kathy were shown their first house, Malcolm dutifully pretended to be interested but his mind was actually far away from their present moment.

"As you can see," Elliot told him as they were walking down the marble white stair case, "the pseudo-facade was stripped away to reveal a minimalist Rococo design. This is yet another example of the late neoclassic Baroque period. And, as I always say, 'if it's not _Baroque_, don't fix it'," Elliot finally finished with a cherry laugh as he and Malcolm finished their tour and ended up back in the bare living room.

Malcolm chuckled at the cheesy joke before he and Elliot came to a stop just below the staircase.

"So, what do you say?" Elliot asked as he opened his arms wide. "Think I got a sale?"

"I must say, Craig, I am very impressed, this house is beyond what I had hoped for," Malcolm said with a smile.

"I'm glad you approve. A few people are also looking into it so if you are serious you need to move fast."

"Slow down there, hotshot, let me consider this for a while," Malcolm said shaking his head with a fake smile on his face and a laugh.

"Sorry, but I got at least three other clients, home owners who pay far more then private businesses are able to, that I know of are coming today alone," Elliot replied trying to push him into it. "That's not counting the other potential buyers coming by later this week…"

Malcolm appeared to be torn as he looked around for a bit. He knew what was going on but he needed to keep Elliot believing his cover was still fully intact until the right moment. Malcolm knew he couldn't blow anything out of the water yet until his boss gave him the 'okay'. Even though he had screwed up once already, he knew it was best to wait and follow orders properly this time…

Finally after a long tense moment Malcolm turned back towards Elliot and got out his phone. "I have to call the other investors. Will you excuse me?"

"Of course," Elliot said as he ducked from the living room and into the dining hall. The Detective listened intently but Malcolm spoke far too softly to the person on the other end of lime for him to hear. Finally Elliot heard Malcolm walk towards the dining room.

"Well?" Elliot asked, his heart fluttering nervously while he put on a brave front.

"Looks like you got yourself a buyer," Malcolm told him with a beaming grin on his face.

"Good man, Malcolm!" Elliot cheered as he clapped him on the shoulder and shook his hand. "Best decision you'll ever make," he told him with a smug grin. "Let's go get the paper work sorted out."

Elliot led him into the kitchen and both sat down at the table and Elliot pulled out a large stack of files and handed it to him.

Elliot leaned back in his chair as if he were king of the world. "This place is so peaceful," he sighed happily. "Hell of a lot better than dealing with two noisy ass brats and a wife who won't quit her bitching.

"Yeah but your wife looks like she'd be worth putting up with."

"Oh hell yeah," Elliot agreed. "The sex alone is worth ten times her bitching but other than that she ain't shit to me; her or the kids."

Malcolm shrugged before a cruel viscous smile formed on his lips. "I could take care of that problem of yours if you'd like."

"How the hell could you help me?" Elliot asked putting down the pen and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I can take them off your hands, for say… 5 million?" Malcolm offered with a shrug. "That's one and a half million for each kid and 2 million for that wife of yours. Then you can retire a happy, free, and wealthy man," Malcolm continued, with a tone that sent a chill down Elliot's spine.

Elliot forced himself to laugh. "I wish, man."

"I'm being serious."

"Yeah okay," Elliot answered with another laugh and an eye roll. "You wanna go get drinks after the final I is dotted?"

"I'm not messing around with you, Craig. I want to buy your wife and children from you."

Elliot's face slowly fell and he forced a half hearted laugh but his stunned face revealed all. "Alright, come on now, don't be an idiot."

"I'm not. You're the head of the house; they belong to you, why shouldn't you have the right to sell them? Think of it as a… refund if you will."

Elliot's face now grew stone cold serious as he leaned back in his chair. "You're actually serious about this?"

"As a heart attack. Bailey took the two kids, ran off, never to be heard or same from again."

Elliot's eyes grew wide as she ran his hand over the back of his neck. "What'll happen to them? I mean what the hell would you want with them?"

Malcolm leaned in closer as did Elliot. "I'm part of an organization that caters to very rich powerful men whose interests run a little… young, if you happen to catch my drift. This place is actually gonna be used to store them. Your son and daughter would be very profitable to us both."

Elliot's stomach twisted uncomfortably and he struggled not to shudder in disgust at Malcolm's vile words. "And Bailey? I know she looks good for her age but-"

"Do you realize how much of a risk I'm taking buying your children from you, Craig? If I was to have, say, a gorgeously stunning woman who makes beautiful children under my control, I could get a new cash cow every nine months and no one would be any the wiser."

Elliot swallowed hard and forced a believable grin to his lips, ignoring the heavy pit settling low in his stomach. "What'll I get out of this? Five million dollars is good but I can get that on a good day showing two lofts in upper Manhattan."

"Five percent of every sale made on your children and one percent on every child of McKenzie's, plus fifteen percent on any of Bailey's future kids. Usually the going rate is ten but she doesn't have a lot of years left so you won't be able to make as much money regarding quantity as other men in your situation."

Elliot sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know, Malcolm. I mean it's a nice tempting offer but I don't think I could find someone who can satisfy me like Bailey."

"Who says she has to stop?" Malcolm answered with a smirk. "You and her make great looking kids, Craig, so anytime you wanna come up and make another one or you're just missing her pussy you can just call me up and I'll arrange it no question. And who knows maybe I can get you on the payroll as a breeder?"

"Just going around having sex with hot women all day just to get them pregnant? I like the sound of that," Elliot said with a smirk.

"So do we have another deal?" asked Malcolm as he stuck out his hand.

"We got a deal," Elliot answered with a smug grin that was beaten by Malcolm's.

Soon after their frightful discussion Elliot picked up the paperwork, shook Malcolm's hand for the final time with a promise to call him tomorrow, and left the home.

The Detective sighed wearily as he walked into the house, struggling to form a smug superior grin that 'Craig' would have worn just after agreeing to sell his wife and two children.

He walked into the living room and saw Dickie and Sofia playing Wii and he went over and stood in front of them.

"Where's your mother?" he barked at the two small children.

"Mom's outside in the shed," Dickie told Elliot as he looked up at him. "She was really upset about something and told us to tell you to go out there when you got home."

Elliot's face fell and his heart began racing madly. He looked down at Sofia and Dickie who seemed perfectly fine and content so he knew it couldn't have been an issue with the children. Elliot swallowed any other words he might have said and hurried out to the shed where they would be safe. Even from a long distance he could see Olivia pacing back and forth through the dirty fogged up window, a look of sheer fright and panic overtaking her otherwise beautiful features.

Elliot raced to the shed and all but slammed the door open no longer caring about staying in character or not at this point. "What happened?" he demanded as he went over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Trevor was attacked," she told him, her voice damp with tears and her eyes wide. "Dean called me and said some paralegal found him nearly dead outside of work. They took him to the hospital but they're not sure if he's gonna make it!"

Elliot ran a hand through his brutally short hair as he looked at the tear stained face of his partner. "Okay, calm down, Liv, alright just calm down. How does Dean know anyway?"

"One of the cops who caught it works at the 1-6 and Dean overheard. El, I know I'm not supposed to but I have to make sure he's alright and even Dean said it was okay if I came. Please let me go see him."

Elliot sighed as she spoke her desperate plea. As hard as this was for him to admit, he knew that she had feelings for what he classified as the scum of the earth. She cared about him and he knew, as much as it pained him to admit, Trevor probably had feelings for her as well.

He closed his eyes as he nodded. "Please be careful, Liv. You don't know who's watching us and who's not. Plus with me and Malcolm sealing the deal and agreeing to buy you guys we gotta be more careful then ever these next few days so we don't spook him."

Olivia nodded wordlessly before she wrapped her arms around him. After a moment Elliot returned the embrace and she leaned her cheek against his. "Thank you," she whispered softly before she sprinted out of the shack and towards the car.

…

"Olivia Benson, I'm here to see Trevor Langan," Olivia told the nurse when she finally arrived at the hospital hours later.

The nurse began to flip through her files and Olivia felt her heart beginning to race uncomfortably. What if she had gotten here too late? A cold sweat broke out on her brow and Olivia swallowed the fear that had caught in her throat.

The nurse turned back from her files towards Olivia and the Detective breathed a sigh of relief when the nurse gave her a soft smile. "He's in room 118, right down this hall, and ninth door on the left."

Offering her a smile as thanks Olivia headed down the hall until she got to the room that the nurse had told her that the lawyer was in. When she reached the outside of the room she offered a timid knock and breathed a sigh of relief when she was met by a faint 'come in' spoken in Trevor's voice.

She opened the door in front of her and gave the occupant, whose face and arms were covered in cuts and bruises, on the bed a timid smile. "Hey, you," Olivia said as she shut the door behind her.

Trevor looked over at her and his blackened eyes narrowed in confusion. "Olivia?"

Olivia's heart jumped into her throat. She willed her next past her lips, terrified of the answer. "Can you… I mean is your eye sight-?"

"No no my sight's fine," he assured her with a soft grin. "I was just wondering what you were doing here? I thought you were undercover?"

"Dean Porter called and told me what happened," she explained as she took a seat next to his bedside, her eyes moved over his bruised and beaten face. "I asked and he said I was allowed to come back here for a few hours. How you feeling?"

Trevor shrugged, wincing as he put his arm behind his head. "I've been in worse scraps then this before. You don't make top three percent of your class at Harvard without getting a few good ass kicking's."

"Never knew Law school was a contact sport," said Olivia with a soft grin.

"Oh yes. It can be very dangerous at some points," he said with a nod and a gentle smile.

Olivia chuckled before she reached over and took his hand. "So you wanna tell me what happened?" she asked, trying her hardest to convey that he had every right to keep what happened during the attack a secret.

But surprisingly Trevor didn't seem to mind what Olivia assumed to be an intrusive question. "I was walking out to my car when all of a sudden there's five masked body builders behind me. I managed to take out of the game but four against one is never really a fair fight…"

"For four against one I think you came out looking pretty good," she lied.

Trevor chuckled and nodded, wincing at the pain it caused him. "I'm sure of it. I probably look like a million dollars."

"Well at least some of the scars will give you a rough sort of manly look," Olivia said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh really?" asked Trevor with his own playful smile.

"Really," Olivia agreed before she leaned down and kissed on him, being wary of the bruises and cuts all over him.

Trevor's hands came up and buried themselves in her hair and pulled her in closer. He let her go only when he needed air and she rested her head against his as he continued to leisurely run his fingers through her hair.

The lawyer let out a soft chuckle as he slowly stroked Olivia's hair. "What?" she asked, unable to keep the smile from widening on her lips.

"Nothing," he told her with a grin. "Just thinking about how the hell I got so lucky to land you."

"You know what's funny?" Olivia said with smile while a certain light dancing in her eye. "I was just thinking the same thing about you…"

Hours later Olivia sighed as she left the hospital with a mournful sorrowful look. Elliot had told her that she needed to leave right then if she wanted to get back in time to discuss what the game plan was before the patrol car got there to pick up Sofia and Dickie. So after several good bye kisses, a promise to go on a real date the moment she got back to Manhattan, and several more goodbye kisses; Olivia left the small room and headed out of the hospital.

When she got to the front door she found, with an edge on her sigh, the front doors were closed off and a burly looking security guard stood in her way. "Sorry, Mam, until we get the walks salted this entrance is for ambulance and staff use only."

Olivia rolled her eyes but nevertheless turned tail and walked towards the back entrance that was hardly ever used. She could have sworn she saw a young girl no older then thirteen walk out of the front doors with no problem.

Blowing it off as one of the staff kid's Olivia made her way to the back entrance. There was a single overhead light shining down on a black van that was parked in between the dark courtyard and the entrance into the narrow alley way that would lead to the front but apart from the place seemed totally abandoned.

Olivia swallowed hard as she made her way towards the van with her head held high, her shoulders back, and trying as hard as she could not to display the fact that she didn't have her gun belt or any of its accessories with her.

Just before she reached the van both the front and the sliding door opened and out jumped four different masked med. Olivia took a hesitant step backwards before she sprinted towards the hospital but one of the men easily caught up to her and tackled her to the ground.

"Get off me!" She screamed as he fell on top of her. He twisted her around so she was on her back and pinned her arms above her head. He jerked her legs open before he nestled in between them so that no matter how she tried she had no chance of kicking him.

She opened her mouth to scream but the other three men rushed over to her, one of them throwing his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound while the other two held her arms down in such a tight grip she thought they may have broken something. She writhed and fought beneath the men holding her down, her heart beating so loud she could hear it pounding in her ear. Her panic mounted to such a severe state it made it nearly impossible to breathe. Only one thought ran rampant through her mind as the man on top of her reached for his jeans. "I'm gonna end up like her…"

But instead of going to his zipper he went for his pocket and pulled out a short dark brown glass vial along with a stained white handkerchief. He untwisted the cap before he put the bandanna over the open top and poured what appeared to be the whole bottle onto the thin fabric.

The man who had his hand over her mouth removed it but before Olivia could even draw a breath to scream, the handkerchief was shoved overtop her nose and mouth and held there with an unbreakable vice grip. She held her breath for as long as she could before she began to feel faint and dizzy and was forced to take a breath.

Almost immediately the world before her swirled dangerously, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she saw no more.

…

"So where did you say you were born again?" Fin asked as he and Carla sat across from one another in an intimate romantic restaurant as he took a bite of his salad.

"Artemisia," Carla answered putting on a heavier accent then usual knowing how much it turned him on when she spoke like she was more foreign then she was. "It's a poor little local town and we barley had enough to put food on the table much less send a girl to school. My town was very supportive in Castro but my parents were not. We were outcasts and targets for his soldiers and followers. One night my father packed up our house, paid a man for his little wooden rowboat and we left in the middle of the night. We got to Miami two weeks later. I was thirteen; I went to an American school, graduated with honors, went to NYU, got my masters in business and never looked back."

"Damn," Fin muttered softly as he popped another forkful of salad into his mouth. "You made it far."

"Well isn't that what the American dream is all about?" she replied with a simple shrug. "Having the freedom to take the biggest risks to achieve the most? After all who would know better than you about the cost of freedom, Mr. Marine?" she said with a playful smile.

"Not Marine, baby girl, I got a brain in my head. You're looking at a super soldier," he said with smirk.

"Ah perdonadme!" she exclaimed apologetically.

Fin closed his eyes and stealthily shifted his legs to make what were the beginnings of a bulge in his jeans more comfortable. "You know, Carla, I gotta say; I don't know half the stuff you say in Spanish but when you speak it…" He shook his head and slowly licked his lips. "Damn, Girl..."

Carla chuckled as he reached out and took her hand and planted a light kiss on the tan skin. "Quiero hacerte el amor," she began slowly with a seductive purr as her leg slowly stroked his under the brilliantly white table cloth. "Hasta el amanecer."

Fin let out a shaky breath that made Carla laugh before she moved her chair closer to his. He eagerly caught her lips in a kiss and she moaned in his mouth as he ran a hand through her coffee colored hair, giving it a gentle tug. "When we get out of here," Fin muttered against her lightly tanned skin, "I am going to tear your sexy Spanish ass up."

"Good to know." Her voice was nothing but a soft low whisper that sent shudders up and down Fin's spine.

He was about to capture another kiss from her before her cell phone started playing some Spanish R and B song Fin couldn't comprehend for the life of him.

"I'm so sorry, it's my emergency phone," she told him regretfully with an apologetic smile before she picked up the phone, checked the ID, and put it to her ear.

"¿Que quieres?" she answered with a degree of sternness Fin had never heard from her before. After a long moment of pause she fired back in such rapid Spanish it sounded only like garbled gibberish to him. For a long moment she seemed almost giddy with delight but after a while he could tell with every foreign word spoken she was becoming more and more agitated with the person on the other end of the line. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the phone before she offered a harsh "Allí estaré pronto."

With that final line spoken she thrust her phone back into her purse and turned to Fin looking distressed as he ever saw her. "I need to go," she told him with a quick peck on the lips before she stood up from the table.

"Carla, wait," Fin protested as he stood up as well. "Who was that? Is everything alright?"

"No, no please I have to go!" she told him with an air of panicked emergency.

"Carla-."

"I will call you tomorrow, I promise!" she offered with another short lived kiss on the lips before she wrenched away from his grasp and hurried out of the restaurant.

"Carla, wait!" he called out but she refused to heed his call and within a moment she was gone.

Fin sighed with an air of distaste as he slunk back down in his seat. He was only able to squander in sorrow for a moment before his own phone rang.

"Tutuola," he answered miserably.

He listened to the person on the other end of the line for a long moment before his jaw dropped and his eyes widened immensely. "Are… are you sure, Melinda?" he choked out feeling bile rise in his throat. He closed his eyes and took several deep shuddering breaths that did nothing to settle the nausea that seemed to be overwhelming him

After another long silent moment Fin nodded. "Alright th- thanks. Se- see you tomorrow."

Without another word, the Detective hung up the phone before he stood up. He grabbed a hold of the table to steady him as his head whirled and he fought to keep his legs from buckling underneath him. After a long moment he took a few unsteady steps, stumbling as if he were a drunken fool, before he finally caught his balance and raced from the restaurant.

Fin looked quickly around the crowded building and looked eagerly through the crowd until he spotted who he needed to talk to.

"Carla!" he called out to her but she couldn't hear him over the bustle of the city. Without a glance towards him she got in her car and drove away.

"Damn it!" Fin hissed as he ran towards a valet who just dropped another car off. "Police emergency, I need your vehicle!" he cried as he flashed them their badge. Without waiting for a response he snatched the keys from the stunned valet's hand, got in the car, and drove after her.

For a moment he considered speeding through the city streets in a pursuit to make her pull over but then his thoughts shifted. If what Melinda told him was just true, if he followed her, he would end up saving a lot more lives than he ever would have thought possible…

He slowed his car and fell in behind another vehicle, watching the dark red Silverado that held Carla intently, patently waiting to see where the drive would take him…

…

Olivia wasn't sure how long she had been out, or what had happened to her while she had been engulfed in darkness; the only thing she did know was that when her eyes finally opened her head swirled and throbbed with pain.

It took her a long moment to comprehend what was around. She was in a dirty dingy room made of cheap splintery wood with a padlocked door in front of her. The room was no bigger than a prison cell and it held a sickening stench of sweat, sex, and most terrifying of all, death…

Olivia tried to sit up but it was only then she realized her arms had been cuffed above her head to a solid steel headboard what was welded to the ground. It only took another moment to comprehend she was strapped to a make shift bed. No sheets, only a hard box spring and broken beaten down dirty mattress on top.

She bit her lip as she pulled uselessly at the cuffs that bound her, biting her bottom lip to keep her from crying as she jerked harder and harder against the cold steel. After several unsuccessful attempts she rested her hands against the metal bars and struggled to take a breath as she looked down at herself. Her only saving grace was she was still fully clothed and she didn't feel anything between her legs indicating someone had done anything to her while she had been passed out.

The locks on the door clicked and Olivia jerked her head towards the sound, her breath coming in panicked gasps. When the door finally opened and the person behind it stepped in the small room Olivia breathed a sigh of relief but at the same time she was full of fear for the woman standing before her.

"Carla!" Olivia breathed as Carla slowly approached her. "You have to get these cuffs out me! Once I'm free I can save us from this place!"

Carla chuckled as if Olivia had said something hilarious as she stood beside her bed and pushed a stray piece of hair from her face. "Oh my dear, Olivia, you're not going anywhere."

"What are you talking about?" Olivia snapped. "Look find a way to free me and I can get us both out!"

"Now why," Carla mused as if she and the captive Detective were having a polite interesting discussion on politics. "Would I want to free you?"

"So I can save us!"

Carla grinned and Olivia almost winced at the vicious qualities that lurked behind the beautiful face. "I am not the one that needs to be saved, Olivia. Plus why would I want to save you?" Carla reached down and pressed uncomfortable on her lower abdomen making Olivia groan in pain. "When you when you can make me millions upon millions of dollars with the children you're going to make me?" Carla smiled at her once more, her true psychotic sadistic tendencies easily shining through for the first time since Olivia had met her. "I hope they have your eyes…"

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	13. Chapter 13

Hello .. sorry for the very long delay with this chapter, i will not happen again i hope you enjoy it :)

Olivia's eyes went wide with horror at Carla's words. Her heart pounded unmercifully against her chest to the point she was sure it was going to explode out of her.

"Wha… what are you talking about?" Olivia asked once she had regained her speech.

Carla chuckled lowly while a sadistic smirk curled her lips upwards. "I always have excelled fairly well at business."

Olivia's jaw dropped as she stared wide eyed at the woman before her. "It was you," the detective whispered softly. "You're the head guy!"

"You work with men all day, Olivia. Do you really think any of them have the brains to pull off an operation like this?" Carla scoffed as if the answer was obvious. "Plus who would suspect an abused, beaten down single Immigrant mother? Pay off a few lawyers, cops, doctors… It was the perfect plan. Everything was going perfect until that stupid bastardo brat of mine had to tell the cops about it," she grumbled angrily. "I may be her mother but I HATE cleaning up her messes. I mean like I said, it was fairly easy to cover up but still." She sighed and ran a steady hand through her thick curls. "A mother's work is never done."

Olivia's whole head was spinning. How could she have been so blind as to trust this mad woman completely when Carla was the one who was in charge of it all? She was the one arranging for the rapes and murder of perhaps hundreds of women and children.

Olivia had never felt so sick in her entire life.

"What about that day in the precinct? When Samuel and you got into a fight? You told Fin he showed up to your house and beat you!"

Carla chuckled as she fingered the fading bruise on her cheek. "You'd be surprised how some of these little kids can kick. I took care of that one. Don't worry, though. She's still pretty enough to be used by my clients. Unless a man with a foot fetish wants her. Then he might find her… lacking in some areas."

Olivia never before believed in God or Jesus or the concept of Heaven or Hell, but she knew as she looked up into the cold ruthless eyes of Carla Gabriella, she knew that she was looking into the eyes of a Demon.

"And about the fight; it's called acting," Carla continued. "You have a fair amount of talent yourself in it actually. If Malcolm didn't know you were already cops, you would have definitely had him fooled."

Olivia's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. Her fear strangled her unmercifully and only one single word flew past her lips. "Dickie…"

Carla laughed at Olivia's paralyzing fear. "Oh yes, he knows all about your partner and his son and who they really are. I didn't think the idiot had it in him to pull it off but God, he had you guys fooled."

"Please don't hurt them!" Olivia pleaded, her voice hitched with terror. "Please don't!"

"Unfortunately, Elliot thought the deal was coming to a close so he sent little Dickie home and it'll look FAR too conspicuous if dad and kid are taken at once," Carla muttered as if she was a child that had gotten told she couldn't buy an expensive doll in a toy store. "But I think," Carla glanced at her watch and smirked. "Yup right about now Malcolm is finishing his business here and is about to and head over to collect Elliot."

Fear encompassed every minute part of the Detective. Elliot was in trouble and there was nothing she could do for him. Her only saving Grace was Dickie was on his way back to Manhattan now and Carla, so it seemed, didn't want to pursue him.

Suddenly Olivia heard footsteps echoing outside the room in what abounded like a hollow hallway. Carla glanced at her watch again and an inhuman smile grew on her lips, far bigger than any other before that. "And it looks like my number two guy is right on time. He was the one who suggested we let some of the broken ones be found so you'd be brought in on the case, ya know. He has it for you hard and wanted you more than anything," she told Olivia with a smile as if it was something to aspire to.

As she said that, the only door in the room opened and Olivia gasped at the man who walked through the door.

"Damn, Carla," Dean Porter smirked as he walked casually towards the duo, his eyes full of quenchable lust and hunger trained on Olivia. "When you said you had her ready for me, I didn't think she'd be tied up and ready to go."

"Have I ever lied to you before?" Carla purred as she walked over to him. She draped her long tanned arms around his neck and caught his lips in a hot open mouth kiss.

Porter was the first to pull away and he turned towards Olivia when he was done. "Hey, Liv," he said with a smirk. "Long time no see."

"You bastard!" Olivia screamed as she fought against the binds holding her. "You cruel unimaginable fucking bastard!"

Porter chuckled at her outburst as he walked over to her and gently stroked her face, laughing as she jerked away from his touch. "What can I say; the pay of an FBI agent wasn't really doing it for me. We all gotta do things we never thought we'd have to do to make it in today's day and age. And thankfully, mine is fucking the most gorgeous women I can get my hands on and getting them pregnant."

"You see, Olivia," Carla began, ignoring the terrified look on Olivia's face. "I'm not the first nor will I be the last to cater to men's needs with children. I've simply found a way to perfect a market that's been around since the dawn of man," said Carla as if she was a professor posing a question to her class. "Most of these little sex rings have to rely on kidnapping and buying and selling to get their merchandise. It gets sloppy and cops catch on a lot faster. I, however, had the brilliant idea that instead of kidnapping and buying and trading, I simply don't kill them or sell off the girls and instead just use them to make me new merchandise until they can't anymore."

"That's where I come in," Porter added with a smirk. "I've never touched a child or anyone under the age of nineteen in my life," he assured Olivia as if that made what he did any better. "But I made about, what is it?" he asked as he turned towards Carla, "about fifty different kids for the company?"

"I'd say more like seventy," Carla countered with a beaming grin as if that number was something to be proud of.

"You're sick!" Olivia screamed at them turning their attention back to her. "Both of you are fucking sick!"

Carla shrugged as if that particular insult had been well used on her before. "Such is life."

Olivia bit back her tears as Dean walked over to her and stroked her cheek once more as if they were still lovers.

He kneeled down beside her bed when he reached over and nuzzled her neck , lightly kissing the spot behind her ear he knew made her weak and was rewarded when Olivia whimpered and tried to pull away from him but had nowhere to go.

"I bet that pansy ass lawyer you're seeing is going to be jealous as hell when he finds out you're here fucking the guy that sent him to the hospital," Porter whispered low in her ear.

"You," gasped Olivia softly. "You're the one that ordered the attack on Trevor!"

"I had to get you away from the house somehow," he told her with a shrug as his hand rested on her waist and trailed along the thin sliver of skin between her shirt where it had rose up and her jeans.

"Get your God damn hands off me!" Olivia snapped as she twisted and jerked under his touch that was both familiar and foreign to her at the same time.

Porter chuckled softly before his lips attacked that one spot again, making her shudder as tears quickly rolled down her face.

"You forget, Olivia," he whispered low in her ear. "I know what you like and I know it takes to get you literally begging me to take you."

"Don't!" Olivia cried as Porter

As hard as she tried to fight it, a sob escaped her and Dean kissed her lightly on the cheek before he stood up and turned towards Carla who was standing looking very pleased with herself.

Dean smirked at her before he turned back to Olivia who had a steady row of tears falling down her face. "I'll be back for you later, I promise."

Dean turned towards Carla who attacked his lips furiously as Dean eagerly pawed her ass and pressed her tight against his body.

She licked his lips and groaned softly. "You're right," Carla moaned as she turned towards Olivia. "She will be a good asset to us."

Dean attacked Carla's neck with sensual kisses. "Maybe you could join me with her the first time," he whispered in her ear before he nibbled on it.

Carla moaned and felt a flood of wetness in her jeans before she kissed Dean with a heavy passion once more, grinding against him.

Both would have continued eagerly if it wasn't for the ring of Carla's cell phone.

"Fuck," Carla hissed as she pulled reluctantly away from Dean.

"We will," Dean told her before he glanced over at a disgusted Olivia and locked his lips as he looked over the Detective. "All three of us."

Carla quickly read the text message before her eyes grew wide. "Damn it!" she hissed before she turned towards Porter. "Guard just said they saw a blackout car pull in across the street. Tutuola followed me here!"

"Shit," Dean muttered as he ran his hand worriedly through his hair. "What do we do?"

"I'll handle it," Carla told him as she began to walk out of the room. "No one touches him but me."

Without a single look backwards Carla wrenched open the door and left the room, slamming the heavy door behind her.

Fin took a deep breath as he looked up at the house he had followed Carla to. His heart beating hard against his chest as the words Warner told him earlier echoed inside his mind.

She found Carla's fingerprints on the child who had been strangled to death and other pieces of DNA belonging to his former lover ran rampant throughout the mass grave. If Warner's tests results were right, this meant that Carla, the woman Fin had found himself falling head over heels for, was nothing but a cold blooded murderer. Plus they had found Carla's prints all over the basement where their tale had first started, including on the locks themselves.

Fin bit his bottom lip as he looked up towards the house, his mind racing. He was falling for her and falling hard. There was no doubt about that. He had made love to her for hours on end and was the first woman he felt any sorts of feelings for since his ex wife.

There's no way Warner's tests were rights. There was a mistake in the lab. There had to have been. There was no way Carla was involved in something as horrible as a kiddie sex ring much less a murder. Just as Fin was debating even going in the house or not when he saw the door open and a woman sprinting full force out it towards the street.

He narrowed his eyes in confusion as he watched her come closer to the vehicle. . His eyes widened when he finally recognized the woman and he got out of the car and ran to meet her.

"Fin!" Carla cried as she ran into his arms and wrapped her arms around him tightly. She sobbed as she buried her head in his chest. "I don't- I don't know what to do!" she sobbed.

Fin bit his bottom lip as he looked down at the woman who would have collapsed into the ice cold snow if it wasn't for his embrace.

"Carla, what's wrong?" he asked softly but hastily. "What's happened?"

Carla shook her head as more tears streamed down her face. "I can't- I can't do it anymore! Not to her! Please help me!" she cried as she tightened her embrace.

"Help you what?"

Carla looked up at him, hr bottom lip trembling as tears streamed down her face. "He's going to kill Sofia!"

"Who?"

"Samuel!" she cried desperately. "I- I knew about the kidnappings and the sex slaves and he… he made me kill the children they couldn't use otherwise he was going to kill my baby girl! I didn't want to!" cried Carla as her sobs shook her body harder. "You have to believe me, I never wanted to kill any of them but he threatened to kill Sofia if I didn't!"

Fin sighed as he gently stroked her hair. "Its okay, Carla," he whispered softly. "We'll get her out of it."

"No!" Carla cried. "He- he doesn't want me to kill anymore! He… he wants me to help wi- with the older women but I can't do it to her! I can't!"

"Can't do what to who?"

"Olivia!"

Fins eyes snapped up as he looked towards the house. "Olivia's in there? Is she okay?"

Carla shook her head as more tears streamed down her face. "They… they found out they were undercover and they took her! Then they said I had to find someone to get her pregnant or else he would kill my baby girl but I can't! I- I don't know what to do!"

Fin bit his lip as he looked up at the house again before he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her away from the house and nearer the car.

"Where's Sofia now?"

"Sa- Samuel keeps her locked up in there when he wants me to do something," Carla told him. "He has eyes all over this place, even the woods!"

"So he can see us now?" Fin asked, his heart sinking.

Carla nodded, letting out a terrified sob in the process. "Please," she whispered. "I don't know what to do! You- you have to come with me! It's the only way to save them! Please!"

Fin nodded. "Show me the way."

Carla let out a joyful cry before she wrapped her arms around him and crashed her lips against his. "Thank you!" she breathed when she pulled away. "Now we need to go!"

Taking him by the hand, Carla led him across the snow white field and into the house which held Olivia captive.

Fin hurried along behind her, his senses heightened as he listened and watched for any man who might hurt them. There was no movement or sounds apart from Carla and his footsteps.

"In here!" Carla cried as they came upon a steel door. She wrenched open the door and the two hurried into the room.

"Liv!" cried Fin as his eyes found Olivia, bound to the bed with handcuffs. Olivia snapped her head towards the two of them and her eyes widened.

"Fin, look out! It's a trap!" Olivia cried.

"What?"

But before Olivia could answer him, Carla hit him hard over the head with her pistol.

"What the fuck!" he roared as he turned on his lover.

"Drop it!" Carla demanded as she aimed her weapon at him.

"Carla-!"

"I said drop it or the gringo dies! Now!" she screamed before she pulled the charger back on the weapon as if to prove a point.

"Okay! Okay!" Fin dropped the magazine and chambered the round so it was empty before he threw it to the ground.

"That's my good little boy," Carla purred.

Fin's eyes widened before he turned towards Olivia, hoping for some kind of explanation.

"She's the head guy," Olivia explained. "She's in charge of all this."

Fin turned back to Carla who had a devious smirk growing in her lips. "You… I… I trusted you, Carla! I was falling for you!"

"Oh, Baby," she cooed, "I'm falling for you too. I still am as a matter of fact. And you should be grateful because that's the only reason why there's not a bullet hole in your head right about now."

Fin swallowed his fear as Carla sauntered up to him, an enticing villainous grin on her face. Fin swallowed hard as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him heatedly on lips. "You're amazing, Fin," she moaned happily as she pulled away from him. "I never felt this way about another man as I do about you."

Fin struggled for several long moments before he mustered the strength to speak. "If… if you love me, then let us go."

"I wish I could, Baby. But now that I let you in on my little secret, the only way you're leaving is in a body bag."

Fin looked at her in total in disbelief. How could he have trusted this cold blooded monster enough so that he was beginning to fall for her?

Carla smirked at his reaction before she draped her arms around his shoulders. "However," she purred softly. "We are in need of some new merchandise. There isn't that many like you on the payroll. I can make your life very easy here, Fin." Her hand slid down his athletic stomach and lightly grazed his crotch.

He swallowed hard as he struggled to not show his body's reaction to her. "What… what do you want me to do?"

Carla leaned in close, gently nipping at him behind his ear. Her voice was nothing but a low whisper. "You're going to get Olivia pregnant."

Fin jumped away from Carla. "You're out of your fucking mind!" he shouted.

"But you two would have such beautiful children. And you would get twenty five percents on all the profits that it makes."

Olivia's mouth fell agape as she finally spoke loud enough for the Detective to hear. "You're sick," Olivia breathed."

Carla whipped around to face Olivia, anger and hatred dead set in her eyes. "I wasn't talking to you!"

Carla took a breath to calm her nerves before she turned back towards Fin, morphing back into the seductive snake that had tempted him in the first place. "So… are you willing to get her pregnant? Then perhaps you might have the two of us."

Fin pushed her away making her stumble. "I wouldn't be with you if you were the last woman on earth!"

Carla narrowed his eyes at him before she crossed his arms in front of her broad chest. "So you're saying that you won't do what I ask?"

Fin glared at her and took a step closer to her. "Go to hell!"

Carla laughed at his words before she grinned. "Oh no, Darling. That's exactly where you're going."

Then, without warning, Carla lifted her pistol and fired.

"FIN!" Olivia screamed as he fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"You fucking bitch!" he roared in pain as the blood seeped through his fingers.

"Shut up!" she barked before she reared back and kicked him in the stomach making him gasp for breath. "You had your chance to take the easy way, but no! Well these are the rules! You're either with me or against me! You made your choice!"

Carla quickly got on her cell phone and pressed the screen several times before a voice came on the other line. She quickly barked something in Spanish to the other line before she hung up and thrust the phone back into her pocket, giving Fin the dirtiest look anyone had ever given him.

Within moments the door opened and two giant muscle bound men walked into the room and went up to Fin. They reached down and grabbed him by the arms before they hoisted him up.

"Get off me!" he shouted as he struggled against their holds. One of the men dug their fingers into the shoulder wound making him scream out in pain, his knees buckling under him.

"Let go of him!" Olivia cried. "Leave him alone!"

"He made his choice!" Carla spat at Olivia as she followed the two men from the room. Her phone rang and she quickly answered it. Only after several seconds Carla's look of madness morphed into a cold hearted sneer. She hung up the phone and turned to Olivia. "That was Martin. He has your little partner Elliot and is on his way now. Maybe he'll be more willing to cooperate…"

"You bitch! You horrible evil bitch!" Olivia screamed as Carla left the room, slamming the door behind her.

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